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Ghadle  Days 

OF 

NewYork 


1609-1825 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


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CRADLE     DAYS 

O  F 

NEW     YORK 

(1609-1825) 


By    HUGH    MAGATAMNEY 


New   York 
DREW  &  LEWIS,    Publishers 
1909 


Copyright,  1909,  by  Hugh  Macatamney. 


(All   rights   reserved.) 


MIIU 


PREFACE 


"Cradle  Days  of  New  York"  is.  in  its  amended  form,  the  series  of 
articles  which  appeared  in  The  New  York  Tribune  under  the  title  "Little 
Old  New  York."  After  its  publication  in  The  Tribune  many  requests 
came  for  it  in  book  form,  and  the  author  has  barkened  to  the  appeals  of 
those  who  wanted  it  in  such  form. 

It  is  a  compilation  of  data  regarding  the  little  village  of  1609,  the 
town  of  1725  and  the  city  of  1825.  The  facts  have  been  gathered  from 
many  sources — historical  societies,  city  and  state  libraries,  Trinit) 
Church  records,  descendants  of  some  of  New  York's  old  families,  and 
from  manuscripts  loaned  to  the  author  by  officials  of  Holland  and 
England. 

The  origin  of  present  day  conditions,  of  present  day  laws,  of  present 
day  events  has  been  traced  and  is  explained  to  the  reader.  Every  effort 
has  been  made  by  the  author  to  keep  away  from  the  beaten  paths  of  the 
historians,  which  necessarily  must  be  heavy  at  times,  and  to  present  in 
as  light  a  way  as  possible  the,  to  us,  peculiar  ways  in  whicli  our  fore- 
fathers laid  the  foundation  of  this  glorious  City  of  New  York. 

The  book  is  compiled  with  the  years  in  sequence,  so  that  it  is  a 
handy  reference  book  as  well  as  a  continued  story  of  the  growth  of  the 
city. 

In  1825  the  city  had  stretched  east  and  west  to  its  limits,  and  north 
to  the  present  Eighth  street,  and  had  become  a  strong,  lusty  youngster. 
It  had  left  its  cradle,  had  forsaken  the  apron  strings  and  its  sturdy  legs 
were  carrying  it  farther  north,  when  the  author  bade  it  good-by  and 
p-ood  luck.     Little  New  York  had  almost  become  a  memorv. 


1431317 


CONTENTS 

Page 
PREFACE       5 

CHAPTER  I— (1609-1684)— Court  of  Assizes;  The  First  Mayor;  The  First 
Tax;  The  First  Night  Watch;  Beginning  of  Property  Condemnation  and 
Street  Paving;   Religious  Fervor  of  the  Huguenots 11 

CHAPTER  II— (1G84-1694)— Introduction  of  the  Negro;  Negro  Plots;  Tobacco 
Cultivation;  Religious  Dissensions;  Worship  by  Jews  Not  Allowed;  "In- 
viters  to  Funerals";  Ducking  Stool  Set  Up 15 

CHAPTER  III— (1694-1700)— Old  New  York  the  Flour  City;  First  Episcopal 
Place  of  Worship;  First  City  Hall;  First  Hospital;  Start  of  Shipbuilding 
Industry;  First  Lighting  System;  Law  to  "Hang  Popish  Priests"         .         .       19 

CHAPTER  IV— (1700-1711)— Geologic  History  of  New  York;  Beginning  of  the 
De  Peyster  Fortune;  "The  Great  Sickness";  The  First  Schoolmaster;  Pres- 
entation of  King's  Farm  to  Trinity;  First  Licensed  Auctioneer  ...       23 

CHAPTER  V— (1711-1729)— First  Poundkeeper  and  Scavenger;  Heathcote 
Hall;  Home  for  Paupers;  First  Public  Clock;  Ropewalk  Established;  First 
Presbyterian  Church;  Irish  Tuber  Introduced;  First  Tax  Law;  The  "New 
York  Gazette"  29 

CHAPTER  VI— (1730-1734)— First  Court  of  Common  Pleas;  First  Fire  De- 
partment; The  "New  York  Weekly  Journal";  First  Criminal  Libel  Case; 
Stage  Between  Boston  and  New  Y'ork S3 

CHAPTER  VII— (1734-1745)— Quakers  Granted  Right  to  Vote;  First  Poor- 
house;  Law  Regarding  Riding  on  Shafts  of  Cart;  Gaming  Houses  De- 
nounced by  Law;  Founding  of  New  York  Society  Library     .         .         .  '      .       37 

CHAPTER  VIII— (1745-1753)— City  Officials  Watched  the  Drawing  of  Govern- 
ment Lotteries;  First  Reward  for  Firemen;  Erection  of  First  Tlieatre; 
Origin  of  Public  Exchanges;  Governor  Osborne  Succeeds  Clinton  and  Kills 
Himself 41 

CHAPTER  IX— (1753-1758)— Old  Burial  Places;  Foimding  and  Early  Annals 
of  King's  College;  Magnificent  Home  of  a  Merchant  Prince;  First  Staten 
Island  Ferry;  St.  Andrew's  Society  Established;   The  Debtors'  Jail  .         .      45 

CHAPTER  X— (1759-1765)— Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Faithful  Do- 
mestic Servants  Organized;  Development  of  Chatham  Street;  First  Bap- 
tist Church;  Law  Regulating  Price  of  Meat;  Sandy  Hook  Lighthouse  .       50 


ji  CONTENTS. 

Page 

CHAPTER  XI — (1765-1768) — Old  State  Prison;  First  Colonial  Congress; 
Stamp  Duties;  First  Lutheran  Church;  The  Brick  Church;  Liberty  Pole 
Erected;   Disfranchisement  of  the  Province;    Scotch  Presbyterian  Church      54 

CHAPTER  XII— (1768-1770)— Captain  Kidd— New  York  Hospital  Founded; 
Fourth,  or  North,  Church;  Marine  Society  Incorporated;  Statue  of  George 
III  Ordered  Erected;   Statue  of  Pitt 58 

CHAPTER  XIII— (1770-1776)— Landmarks  of  Old  New  York;  Circular  to  the 
Betrayed  Inhabitants  of  the  City  and  Colony  of  New  York;  Battle  of 
Golden  Hill;    First  Record   of   a   Boycott 6- 

CHAPTER  XIV— (1776-1780)— Richmond  Hill;  Tom  Paine's  "Common  Sense"; 
Death  of  Tom  Paine;  Great  Fire  of  1776;  First  Written  Constitution  of 
New  York  Framed  at  Princeton;  Intense  Cold  in  1779  .         .         .         .       6S 

CHAPTER  XV— (1780-1784)— Chelsea  Village:  Its  Origin;  Clement  C.  Moore; 
Treaty  of  Peace  Signed;  Reception  to  General  Washington;  Black  Sam's 
Tavern;   Reception   to  Lafayette;    Proposition   to   Establish  Waterworks       73 

CHAPTER  XVI~(1784-1785)— Trysting  Place  of  New  York's  Belles  and 
Beaux;  Homes  of  Old  New  Yorkers;  Fashionable  Hotels  in  the  Old  Days; 
Formation   of   Political   Parties;    Tryon   Row 78 

CHAPTER  XVII— (1785-1788)— Fair  Greenwich;  Origin  of  Abingdon  Square; 
Bank  Street;  Second  Jewish  Burying  Ground;  Stage  Line  Between  Green- 
wich Village  and  Pine  Street;  Monument  to  General  Montgomery     .         .       83 

CHAPTER  XVIII— (1788-1790)— Broadway  in  the  Beginning  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century — Residence  Streets;  Business  Streets;  Country  Seats;  Brevoort 
Estate  and  Fight  of  Owner;   Henry  Spingler's  Stubbornness       .         .       - .       88 

CHAPTER  XIX— (1790- 1791  )-Story  of  a  Musical  Event  in  1850;  Salary  of 
the  Mayor  in  1790;  Final  Location  of  Seat  of  Government;  Plague  of 
Yellow  Fever 93 

CHAPTER  XX— (1791-1794)— History  of  Education  in  New  York;  Work  of 
Public  School  Society;  Beginning  of  Board  of  Education;  Revival  of  Public 
Improvements;  Fresh  Water  Pond  .  98 

CHAPTER  XXI— (1794-1795)— Origin  of  Street  Names;  First  Sidewalks  Laid; 
Houses  Numbered;  "Battle  Off  Sandy  Hook";  City  Refuge  of  French 
Emigres;  Christ  Church  Built;   First  Dispensary 103 

CHAPTER  XXII— (1795)— First  Newspaper;  History  of  Newspapers  Up  to 
1845;  First  One-Cent  Paper;  Beginning  of  the  Newsboy;  Origin  of  News- 
paper Distribution;   The  Moon  Hoax 110 

CHAPTER  XXIII— (1795-1796)— Bowling  Green;  Origin  of  "Gotham";  "The 
New  York  Gazetteer";  Cost  of  City  Lighting;  Beginning  of  Gas  Com- 
panies; Burning  of  New  Treaty 115 


CONTENTS.  iii 

Page 
CHAPTER  XXIV— (1796-1797)— Theatres  and  Theatricals  in  New  York  from 
1732;  Introduction  of  Italian  Opera;  Old  City's  Opinion  of  the  Derivation 
of  t"he  Word  Drama;  Theatre  Receipts  in  1827 119 

CHAPTER  XXV— (1797)— Opinion  of  an  English  Actor  in  1797  of  New  York; 
The  Potter's  Field;  State  Prison  at  Greenwich;  First  Superintenrent  of 
Puhlic  'Works;    Treadmill 124 

CHAPTER  XXVI— (Religions— Dutch  Reformed)— History  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church;  First  Members  Worshipped  in  Loft  in  Mill;  Customs  Pre- 
vailing in  Three  Places  of  Worship;  First  Trial  of  Steamboat      .         .         .     129 

CHAPTER  XXVII— (Religions— Protestant  Epi.copr.l)— Advent  of  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church;  Support  of  Church  of  England  Made  Compulsory;  The 
Establishment  of  Trinity;  Its  Baptism  of  Fire;  Building  of  St.  George's, 
St.  Paul's  and  St.  John's  Chapels l.'',4 

CHAPTER  XXVIII— (Religions— Lutheran)— The  First  Lutheran  Church; 
Justus  Falckner  First  Lutheran  Pastor  to  Be  Ordained  in  America;  Ac- 
count of  His  Ordination;  Four  Congregations  and  One  Hundred  Communi- 
cants His  Initial  Charge l."39 

CHAPTER  XXIX— (Religions— Presbyterian)— History  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  New  Y'ork;  "The  Apostle  of  Presbyterianism  in  America,"  Rev. 
Francis  Doughty;  Arrest  of  Ministers  by  Order  of  Lord  Cornbury      .         .14.3 

CHAPTER  XXX— (Religions— Baptist,  Methodist,  Jewish  and  Quaker)— Tlie 
Baptist  Church;  Meetings  in  Private  Dwellings;  Sacrament  Administered 
in  Rigging  Loft;  The  Methodist  Church;  The  Moravians;  The  Quakers; 
The  Jews  147 

CHAPT'ER  XXXI— (Religions— Roman  Catholic)— Advent  of  the  Sect  in  the 
City;  Great  Intolerance  Shown  to  It;  Opening  of  a  Latin  School;  Liberty 
of  Conscience  Granted  to  All  Except  "Papists" 152 

CHAPTER  XXXII— (1798)— Yellow  Fever  Scourge  Causes  Agitation  for 
Drinking  Water  Supply;  Aaron  Burr's  Scheme;  The  Tea  Water  Pump; 
Building  of  Croton  Aqueduct,  Central  Park  Reservoir  and  High  Bridge       .     15S 

CHAPTER  XXXIII— (1798)— The  First  Steamboat;  Monopoly  of  Hudson 
Traffic  Granted  to  Robert  R.  Livingston;  Ilis  Craft  a  Failure;  Fulton  and 
the  Clermont's  First  Trip  to  Albany;   First  Steam  Ferrj'boats  .         .         .     162 

CHAPTER  XXXIV— (1798-1799)— History  of  Section  from  Ann  Street  to  Pearl 
Street;  Where  Leisler  and  Milborne  Were  Buried;  The  Place  of  Execution; 
Catimut's  Hill;  First  Day  of  Thanksgiving;  Death  of  Washington      .         .     166 

CHAPTER  XXXV— (1800)— History  of  City  Hall  Park;  A  Few  of  the  Occur- 
rences There;  First  Public  Building  Erected  Within  Its  Limits;  Building 
of  the  Pi-esent  City  Hall 171 


iv  CONTENTS. 

Page 

CHAPTER  XXXVI— (1800)— Lower  Broadway:  Its  Position  as  a  Residential 
Neighborhood;  Phaces  of  Historic  Interest;  Some  of  Its  Residents; 
Oyster  Pasty  Alley;  Bowling  Green  Inclose'd;  The  City  at  the  Century's 
Dawn 176 

CHAPTER  XXXVII— (1800)— History  of  Wall  Street;  Speculative  Instinct 
of  Our  Forefathers;  Erection  of  First  Presbyterian  Church;  Coffee  House; 
The  Bank  of  New  York;   Comparative  Values ISO 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII— (1800)— History  of  the  "Heere  Wegh"  (Wall  Street  to 
City  Hall  Park);  The  Damen  Plantation;  The  Van  Tienhoven  Planta- 
tion;  The  Shoemaker's  Pasture;   The  King's  Arms  Tavern         .         .         .185 

CHAPTER  XXXIX— (1800)— Broadway  from  Vesey  to  Duane  Street;  Mon- 
tagnie's  Garden;  Cox's  Garden;  Contoit  Garden;  the  Rutgers  Farm;  Origin 
of  Chambers  Street;  First  Dry  Goods  Store-  Exhibition  of  Sewing  Ma- 
chine     190 

CHAPTER  XL— (1800)— East  Side  of  Broadway  Between  Duaue  and  Pearl 
Streets;  Masonic  Hall;  The  Morgan  Murder;  The  De  Peyster  Dairy; 
The  White  Conduit  House;  Another  Conduit  Garden 195 

CHAPTER  XLI—(1802-181G)— Academy  of  Fine  Arts  Founded;  City  Comp- 
troller Appointed;  Period  of  Duelling;  Yellow  Fever  Scourge;  Death  of 
Alexander  Hamilton;  Founding  of  New  York  Historical  Society  and 
Musical    Society 201 

CHAPTER  XLII— (1817-1825)— First  Line  of  Packet  Ships  Established;  Ar- 
rival of  the  Great  Eastern;  Body  of  General  Montgomery  Transferred; 
Reception  to  Lafayette;  Oi'ganization  of  First  Savings  Bank       .         .         .     208 

CHAPTER  XLIII— (The  City's  Musical  Life  from  1825  to  1872)— The  Garcia 
Family;  "The  Woods";  Mrs.  Seguin;  Madame  Borghese;  Havana  Opera 
Company;  Miss  Clotilda  Barili;  Madame  Anna  Bishop;  Madame  Bosio; 
Madame  Anna  Thillon;  Madame  Alboni;  Adelina  Patti;  Clara  Louise 
Kellogg 215 

CHAPTER  XLIV— (History  of  Central  Park)— Originally  Shanties  and  Bone- 
Boiling  Establishments;  Land  Cost  $6,348,595.90;  Site  of  State  Arsenal; 
Used  by  Tweed  for  Political  Power;  Introduction  of  European  Sparrows; 
Analysis  of  the  Soil 222 

CHAPTER  XLV— Rump  Board  of  Aldermen;  Passenger  Transportation;  In- 
troduction of  Croton  Water;  First  Local  Stage  Lines;  First  "L"  Road; 
Advent  of  the  Flat  House;  Beginning  of  Central  Park         ....     227 


CHAPTER  I. 


(1609-1684.) 


Court  of  Assizes,  the  First  Mayor,  the  First  Tax  and  the  First  Night 

Watch — Beginning  of  Property  Condemnation  and  Street  Paving 

— Keligious  Fervor  of  the  Huguenots. 

Students  of  the  history  of  New  York  City  know  that  it  derived  its  origin 
and  commercial  importance  from  the  colonizing  and  trading  spirit  of  the 
Hollanders^  and  the  thirst  for  adventure  which  characterized  other  maritime 
nations  of  Europe  soon  after  the  discovery  of  this  Western  Continent. 

The  early  troubles  and  civil  commotions  of  the  colonies  were  occasioned 
by  the  conflicting  claims  of  England,  France  and  Holland,  arising  from 
real  or  pretended  rights  from  prior  discovery  of  territory.  Many  facts 
might  be  outlined  regarding  these  interior  collisions  from  1609,  the  advent 
of  Hudson,  and  the  year  which  set  whirling  the  competitive  and  ingenious 
brains  of  the  adventurous  settlers,  but  they  are  in  the  minds  of  most  school- 
boys, and  have  no  place  in  this  compilation  of  events  leading  up  to  the  pres- 
ent day.  As  one  historian  puts  it,  when  speaking  of  the  first  ground  given 
to  the  Dutch  by  the  Indians,  a  classical  knowledge  of  Queen  Dido  was 
turned  to  profitable  account  by  the  Dutch,  and  the  first  American  got  drunk 
on  Hudson's  whiskey,  slept,  awoke  and  called  for  more. 

According  to  manuscript  documents  antedating  1800,  which  yield  the 
most  curious  particulars  of  local  history  and  statistical  information,  some 
apparently  trivial  and  unimportant  at  first  sight,  but  all  valuable  in  tracing 
the  history  and  progress  of  the  city  and  its  unexampled  growth  and  pros- 
perity, the  earliest  authentic  record  of  population  is  in  1656.  Then  several 
new  streets  were  laid  out,  and  the  first  map  of  the  city  was  sent  to  Holland 
by  Governor  Stuyvesant,  who  arrived  in  1647,  and  was  the  last  Governor 
under  the  Dutch  dynasty.  He  held  ofllce  for  seventeen  years,  until  the 
colony  was  taken  in  1664  by  Colonel  Nichols,  who  arrived  from  England 
with  four  frigates  and  300  soldiers,  and  afterward  reported  to  the  Duke  of 
York,  who  had  granted  the  patent  for  the  expedition,  that  the  town  was 
composed  of  a  few  miserable  houses,  occupied  by  men  who  were  extremely 
poor;  but  he  foretold  its  greatness  if  certain  immunities  were  granted. 

Colonel  Nichols  organized  the  first  Court  of  Assizes,  invested  it  with 
every  power,  collected  into  one  code  the  ancient  customs  of  the  colony, 
added  improvements,  and  made  the  laws  of  England  supreme.      Henceforth 

u 


12  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

no  purchase  of  land  from  the  Indians  was  valid  without  his  license.  He 
confiscated  all  the  property  of  the  West  India  Trading  Company,  which 
was  established  by  Holland  in  1620  to  trade  to  the  western  coast  of  Africa 
and  the  eastern  shores  of  America,  with  power  to  make  treaties  with  the 
princes  of  the  land,  to  build  fortresses  for  the  protection  of  its  commerce 
and  do  everything  for  the  preservation  of  good  government.  It  was  this 
company  that  settled  a  colony  and  called  it  New-Netherlands.  Under  its 
control  frequent  quarrels  occurred  as  to  boundary  and  trade,  but  the  colo- 
nists managed  to  build  the  first  street  in  the  city — Pearl  street — and  to 
erect  a  fort  at  the  junction  of  the  North  and  East  rivers,  which  contained 
houses  and  a  church.     The  company  failed  in  1634. 

Governor  Nichols,  in  1664,  altered  the  style  and  form  of  government 
in  New  York  from  Scout,  Burgomaster  and  Schepen  to  Mayor,  Alderman 
and  Sheriff.  The  first  Mayor  of  the  incorporation,  so  called,  was  Thomas 
Willett,  an  Englishman.  He  had  factories  or  Indian  trading  houses  from 
Kennebeck,  Me.,  to  Delaware.    The  Sheriff  was  Allerd  Anthony. 

Twelve  hundred  guilders  ($1,000)  was  raised  for  the  support  of  the 
ministry  in  New  York,  and  permission  was  given  to  the  Lutherans  to  send 
for  and  settle  a  minister  of  their  persuasion  in  the  city.  He  was  Jacobus 
Fabriceius,  who  arrived  in  1669.  John  Shute  was  licensed  as  the  only 
English  schoolmaster  in  Albany,  to  teach  the  Dutch  the  English  language. 
Colonel  Francis  Lovelace,  in  May,  1667,  succeeded  Colonel  Nichols,  who  re- 
turned to  England.  During  this  year  a  wagon  road  was  constructed  from 
New  York  to  Harlem,  and  the  next  year,  for  the  sake  of  promoting  a  good 
breed  of  horses,  the  Governor  instituted  races  at  Hempstead,  Long  Island, 
and  subscriptions  were  taken  from  all  willing  to  run  for  a  crown  in  silver 
or  a  bushel  of  good  wheat. 

The  government  of  1671  had  its  troubles  about  salaries  withheld,  for 
v/e  read  that  Samuel  Driscus,  the  Dutch  minister,  applied  to  the  Governor 
and  council  to  have  tv/o  years'  arrears  of  salary  paid;  but  as  he  had  been 
sick  one  year  they  refused,  and  paid  him  only  £100,  though  they  recom- 
mended that  the  elders  and  deacons  help  him  further.  Such  is  the  rela- 
tion of  Church  to  State.  In  1672  the  iTrst  Friend  preached  in  New  York, 
and  the  following  year  the  post  rider  began  his  trips  to  and  fi'om  Boston, 
once  in  three  weeks.  In  July  of  the  same  year  the  Dutch  retook  the  city, 
but  the  next  year  it  was  restored  to  the  English.  The  commander  of  the  fort 
at  the  time  of  the  surrender  to  the  Dutch  was  tried  for  treachery  and  had 
his  sword  broken  over  his  head,  just  for  a  little  thing  like  surrendering  to 
the  enemy  without  firing  a  shot. 

In  1674  Nicholas  de  Meyer,  Mayor,  established  the  first  valuation  of 
citizens'  holdings  and  laid  the  first  tax,  and  from  then  to  this  day  "kickers" 
and  evaders  have  flourished.  The  name  of  Thomas  Lewis,  an  Irishman,  is 
found  in  the  records  for  this  year.  He  was  one  of  four  who  mingled  with 
the  Dutch  in  New-Amsterdam,  and  was  seventeenth  in  a  list  of  inhabitants 
recorded  in  the  order  of  their  wealth.  He  was  worth  6,000  florins,  and  had 
real  estate. 

In  1675,  with  Edmund  Andros  Governor  and  William  Duvall  Mayor,  a 
Court  of  Sessions  was  established;  no  liquors  were  to  be  sold  to  the  Indians 
(for  divers  reasons),  English  weights  and  measures  were  established,  rates 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK  13 

were  levied  for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  and  "all  persons  on  Long  Island 
of  an  estate  v,-orth  from  £20  to  £100  may  keep  one  breeding  mare  and  no 
more;  and  so  for  every  ilOO  one,  but  as  many  working  geldings  as  v/anted." 
Magistrates  were  told  to  do  justice  to  Indians  as  well  as  Christians! 

The  colonists  builded  better  than  they  knew  in  the  following:  "Janu- 
ary 11. — The  watch  set  at  8  o'clock  every  evening,  after  ringing  of  the  bell, 
and  the  city  gates  locked  at  9,  and  opened  again  at  daylight.  No  cursing 
or  swearing  permitted.  Every  citizen  to  have  a  musket  and  powder  and 
ball  constantly  in  readiness.  No  person  allowed  to  sell  or  trade  unless  free 
burgesses  of  the  city  for  one  year,  and  they  not  to  depart  without  giving 
six  months'  notice  thereof;  or,  unless  such  person  or  persons  so  departing 
shall  during  that  time  keep  fire  and  candle,  pay  scot  and  lot.  And  every 
merchant  made  free  shall  pay  six  beavers,  and  all  handicrafts  traders  two 
beavers  for  being  made  freemen.  All  persons  that  keep  public  houses  shall 
sell  beers  as  well  as  wyne  and  other  liquors  and  keep  lodging  for  strangers." 

What  a  chance  for  the  Governor  and  Mayor  in  1675  in  the  following 
proposal:  "That  there  be  six  houses  appointed  to  sell  all  sorts  of  wyne  and 
brandy  and  rum,  with  lodging,  and  eight  houses  to  sell  beers  and  syder, 
mum  and  rum,  and  to  provide  for  strangers,  to  sell  brandy,  rum,  strong 
waters  and  tobacco,"  and  the  following  prices  of  wines,  etc.,  were  estab- 
lished: 

French  wines Is.  3d.   per  English  quart. 

Fayal  wines  and  St.  Georges Is.  6d.   per  English  quart. 

Madeira  wines Is.  lOd.   per  English  quart. 

Canary  and  Malaga 2s  Od.  per  English  quart. 

Brandy    6d.  per  English  gill. 

Rum    3d.  per  English  gill. 

Cider    4d.  per  English  quart. 

Mum 6d.  per  English  quart. 

Lodging  at  the  wine  houses  v>'as  fourpence  a  night,  and  at  the  beer 
houses  threepence  a  night. 

From  the  following  regulation  passed  by  the  Council  in  1675  we  trace 
the  present  law  of  property  condemnation  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the 
city:  "Ordered,  that  the  land  in  this  city  convenient  to  build  on,  if  the 
parties  who  own  the  same  do  not  speedily  build  thereon,  their  land  may  be 
valued  and  sold  to  those  who  are  willing  to  build."  Streets  were  to  be 
cleaned  every  Saturday,  or  oftener,  and  cartmen  forfeited  their  licenses  if 
the  dirt  was  not  carried  away.  A  public  slaughter-house  was  ordered  built 
outside  the  gate  of  the  city. 

The  first  auctioneer  in  the  city  was  Adolphe  Peterson,  who  was  ordered 
to  sell  four  lots,  containing  25  feet  each  in  front,  English  measure,  at  a 
vendue  or  outcry. 

In  1676  the  first  street  paving  was  done.  The  Heeren  Gracht,  or  Broad 
street,  was  filled  up  and  levelled.  There  were  no  asphalt  companies  then. 
With  an  eye  to  protection  of  home  industries,  the  Governor,  in  consequence 
of  a  representation  that  wheat  was  lower  in  New  York  than  in  the  neigh- 
boring colonies,  fixed  its  price  at  5  shillings  a  bushel  for  winter  yield  and 
4s.  6d.  for  summer. 


14  CKADLIi     DAYS     OF     XEiV     YOKK. 

The  Council  ordered  "that  it  is  uot  lawful  Lo  aell  liquor  to  Indians,  and 
if  they  are  found  drunk  in  the  street,  without  knowing  at  what  house  they 
obtained  the  drink,  the  whole  street  is  liable  to  a  fine."  "Tanners  and  cur- 
riers to  be  selected  by  the  Aldermen  and  approved,  and  no  others  allowed. 
No  butchers  allowed  to  be  curriers  or  tanners  or  shoemakers,  and  vice 
versa." 

In  1677  Stephanus  Van  Courtlandt  became  Mayor,  and  the  first  tax 
riite  for  defraying  and  discharging  city  debts,  incurred  for  building  docks, 
bridges,  etc.,  was  levied  on  384  houses  and  40  vacant  lots,  and  at  the  same 
meeting  the  Council  queried:  "Whether  attorneys  are  thought  useful  to 
plead  in  courts  or  not?"  Answer:  "It  is  thought  not."  Whereupon, 
resolved  and  ordered,  "that  pleading  attorneys  be  no  longer  allowed  to 
practice  in  the  government,  excepting  in  the  depending  cases."  This  was 
dated  May  19. 

Here  is  something  interesting  to  the  people  of  New  Rochelle:  When 
the  Huguenots  first  settled  there  the  only  place  of  worship  they  had  was 
in  New  York  City.  They  had  taken  land  on  terms  which  required  the 
utmost  exertions  of  men,  women  and  children  to  clear.  They  worked  hard 
till  Saturday  night,  spent  the  night  in  trudging  down  on  foot  to  the  city, 
attended  worship  twice  the  next  day  and  walked  home  the  same  night,  to 
be  ready  for  work  on  Monday  morning.  They  wrote  to  France  of  the  great 
privileges  they  enjoyed.  There  was  no  Easter  parade  then,  no  fine  musical 
attraction — just  the  worship  of  God. 

Thomas  Delaval  was  Mayor  in  1678  and  Francis  Rombolt  in  1679. 
Forty-eight  shillings  was  received  from  sixteen  persons  who  were  licensed 
to  sell  wines.     A  negro  was  valued  this  year  at  £42  10s. 

William  Beekman  was  deputy  Mayor  until  1681,  when  the  Duke  of 
York's  charter  was  granted,  and  Governor  Dongan  arrived  in  1682.  Through 
him  a  charter  was  granted  which  has  continued  to  be  the  basis  of  New 
York's  rights  and  privileges.  His  town  residence  was  on  Broadway,  the 
ground  extending  from  Maiden  Lane  to  Ann  street.  He  also  had  an  estate 
at  Castleton,  Staten  Island.  Mr.  Stenwick  was  made  Mayor,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  the  first  House  of  Representatives  convened.  The  first  Recorder, 
James  Graham,  was  appointed  at  the  request  of  the  corporation,  and  took 
his  place  on  the  bench  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Mayor.  The  style  was  al- 
tered to  Mayor,  Recorder  and  Aldermen. 

On  what  slender  threads  hung  the  hopes  and  fears  of  our  ancestors  in 
1683!  On  March  7  they  noted  a  serious  rival  in  trade  on  the  opposite 
shores  of  the  Hudson,  and  the  Mayor  of  the  city  petitioned  the  Government 
and  Crown  to  have  East  Jersey  (which  heretofore  had  been  claimed  as 
attached  to  the  colony  of  New  York,  but  had  been  separated)  "reannexed 
to  this  province,  as  trade  and  revenue  had  suffered  by  the  dismemberment, 
and  fears  were  entertained  in  consequence  that  New  York  would  be  sup- 
planted by  the  diversion  of  trade."  At  this  time  New  York  had  the  ex- 
clusive privilege,  by  law,  of  bolting  and  packing  flour  and  meal,  and  this 
was  the  sole  support  of  at  least  two-thirds  of  its  citizens,  and  was  com- 
plained of  by  the  country  people  as  a  grievance.  In  1684  New  street  and 
Beaver  street  were  ordered  to  be  paved,  and  the  first  watch  was  appointed, 
consisting  of  eight  persons,  at  12  pence  a  night.. 


CHAPTER  II. 

(1684-1694.) 

Introduction  of  the  Negro — Negro  Plots— Tobacco  Cultivation— Religious 

Dissensions — Worship  by  Jews  Not  Allowed — "Inviters  to 

Funerals" — Ducking  Stool  Set  Up. 

In  the  chronological  history  of  New  York  mention  is  made  of  the  valu- 
ation put  on  a  negro  in  1679.  The  old  manuscripts  in  the  possession  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society  show  that  the  negro  was  introduced  forty  years 
prior  to  1G79  by  the  Privileged  Trading  Company  of  Amsterdam.  In  a 
record  of  a  lease  in  1638,  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the  colony,  of  a 
certain  tract  of  land  near  Fort  Amsterdam,  negroes  are  mentioned.  The 
agreement  is  made  in  the  names  of  "The  Privileged  Trading  Company" 
and  the  "Honourable,  wise  and  prudent  Sir  William  Kieft,  Director  Gen- 
eral of  New  Netherlands."  This  tract  of  land  was  used  for  the  cultivation  of 
tobacco,  as  was  a  part  of  Pawles  Hook,  the  whole  of  which  was  sold  by 
William  Kieft  to  Abram  Isaac  Planck  for  £75,  and  a  plantation  to  Thomas 
Hall,  "with  the  negroes  thereon." 

The  blacks  lived  a  peaceable  life  with  the  Dutch  and  English  until 
1712,  when  an  insurrection  occurred  among  them,  and  they  set  fire  to  the 
city,  killing  several  of  the  inhabitants.  Nineteen  of  the  negroes  were  exe- 
cuted. 

The  celebrated  negro  plot  of  1741,  a  full  history  of  which  is  given 
un_er  this  date,  occurred  when  there  were  about  twelve  thousand  inhab- 
itants in  the  city,  one-sixth  of  whom  were  negro  slaves.  Of  this  plot  a  book, 
published  in  1810.  says: 

"After  the  lapse  of  nearly  a  century,  we  look  back  with  astonishment 
on  the  panic  occasioned  by  the  negro  plot.  To  judge  from  tradition  and  the 
journal  of  the  proceedings  against  the  conspirators,  no  doubt  can  be  had  of 
the  actual  existence  of  a  plot.  The  very  mode  adopted  to  discover  abettors 
by  mutual  criminations  and  confessions  tended  in  the  progress  of  the  trials 
to  inculpate  every  negro  slave  in  the  city.  As  it  was  impossible  to  prove  all 
equally  guilty,  the  ringleaders  only  were  executed,  and  those  who  plead 
guilty  and  threw  themselves  on  the  mercy  of  the  court  vvere  transported." 

Suspicion  of  a  plot  among  the  negroes  was  first  occasioned  by  frequent 
alarms  of  fires  and  robberies.  The  most  famous  robbery  occurred  at  the 
house  of  a  Mr.  Hogg,  in  Broad  street,  where  linen  and  silver  coins,  chiefly 
Spanish,  to  the  value  of  £60,  were  taken.  On  Wednesday,  March  IS,  1740,  a 
fire  broke  out  in  "his  majesty's  house,  at  Fort  George.  The  citizens  assem- 
Med  promptly  and  assisted  in  saving  the  records  and  papers  in  the  office  of 
the  Secretary  of  State."  The  Governor's  house  and  the  venerable  Dutch 
church,  erected  in  1640,  were  destroyed.  Other  fires  occurring  afterward,  a 
panic  followed  among  the  colonists.  Many  negroes  were  arrested,  and  from 
the  evidence  obtained  it  appeared  that  the  city  was  destined  to  be  burned 

15 


i6  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

completely  and  the  inhabitants  massacred.  Fifty-five  of  those  arrested  were 
convicted,  and  seventy-eight  confessed.  Thirteen  were  burned  at  the  stake 
at  a  place  then  out  of  town,  near  the  present  intersection  of  Pearl  street 
and  Park  Row;  twenty  were  hanged,  seventy  were  transported  and  fifty 
were  discharged. 

In  16S4  religious  dissensions  began  to  agitate  the  people  of  the  Colony. 
Governor  Dongan  and  some  of  the  principal  ofiicers  were  Catholics,  and  had 
been  appointed  by  the  reigning  Stuart  family  in  England.  It  was  feared, 
therefore,  that  the  Protestant  religion  was  in  danger.  To  further  increase 
the  fear,  a  Latin  school  was  opened  under  the  management  of  a  learned 
Jesuit. 

The  colonists  were  not  tolerant  of  the  religion  of  others,  however,  for 
the  Jews,  having  petitioned  the  Governor  for  liberty  to  exercise  their  re- 
ligion, and  their  petition  being  recommended  by  him  to  the  Mayor  and  all 
Aldermen,  and  read  in  the  Common  Council,  were  told  "that  noe  publique 
worship  is  tolerated,  by  act  of  Assembly,  but  to  those  that  professe  faith  in 
Christ,  and  therefore  the  Jews  worship  not  to  be  allowed."  While  bigotry 
is  less  rampant  outwardly  to-day,  there  are  many  visible  signs  of  the  objec- 
tions made  by  some  as  to  the  manner  in  which  others  worship.  About  this 
time  the  honest  Quakers  were  not  tolerated  in  Boston. 

The  first  House  of  Representatives  was  abolished  by  James  II  in  1686, 
during  which  year  he  forbade  tlie  use  of  printing  presses.  In  1687  the  news 
of  the  revolution  in  England  and  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary  to  the 
throne  reached  the  colonies.  On  the  arrival  of  the  news  a  militia  captain, 
Leisler,  seized  the  fort,  where  he  acted  as  Governor,  and  convened  the  As- 
sembly. Two  years  after,  on  the  arrival  of  Governor  Slaughter,  Leisler  and 
his  secretary,  Malborne,  were  tried  and  convicted  of  high  treason  in  not 
promptly  giving  up  the  fort.  They  were  executed,  and  the  proceedings  in 
Leisler's  trial  were  printed  in  Boston,  as  there  was  no  printing  press  in 
New  York. 

May  1,  1690,  witnesses  the  first  meeting  of  Commissioners  (called  a 
Congress)  from  the  several  colonies,  preparatory  to  the  establishing  of  pro- 
vincial laws,  which  was  done  in  1691,  when  the  Duke  of  York's  laws  ceased 
and  the  first  General  Assembly  convened  in  New  York,  composed  of  seven- 
teen members,  selected  as  follows:  City  and  County  of  New  York,  4;  Ulster 
and  Dutchess,  2;  Westchester,  1;  Richmond,  2;  Albany,  2;  Suffolk,  2;  Kings, 
2,  and  Queens,  2. 

In  this  year  an  important  office  was  established  by  the  council,  that  of 
"inviters  to  funerals."  Richard  Chapman  and  Cornadus  Vandor  Beeck  were 
the  successful  candidates  for  the  position,  and  their  profits  were  to  be  equal. 
Amsterdam  was  the  sponsor  for  this  office  and  its  duties.  At  a  funeral  the 
inviter  was  dressed  in  black,  with  a  mourning  crape  on  his  hat  reaching  to 
the  ground,  and  carried  a  scroll  in  his  hand  containing  a  list  of  the  persons 
invited.  A  similar  office  is  performed  to-day  by  the  undertaker's  assistant, 
which  doubtless  is  a  survival  of  the  old  custom.  Hogs  were  not  "suffered  to 
goe  or  range  in  any  of  the  streets  or  lands,  within  the  fire  wards,  under 
the  penalty  of  the  forfeiture  of  all  such  swine,"  etc.,  and  "poysonous  and 
stinking  weeds  within  this  city,  before  every  one's  door,  to  be  forthwith 
pluckt  up,  upon  the  forfeiture  of  three  shillings  for  the  neglect  thereof." 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  17 

"The  poor  ye  have  always  with  ye."  "Ordered  that  Top-Knot  Betty 
and  another  person  and  her  children  be  provided  for  as  objects  of  charity, 
and  four  shillings  a  week  allowed."  This  was  in  1691,  and  is  so  in  1909. 
We  find  that  frequent  grants  of  land  were  made  by  the  corporation  this 
year  for  trifling  considerations.  How  true  to  history  218  years  later!  One 
wonders  at  the  following,  revealed  by  the  old  manuscript  records  of  the 
council:  "That  the  treasurer  let  Scarrbouch  have  a  new  suit,  and  assist  him 
in  what's  wanting." 

In  1691  the  public  authorities  sold  all  the  land  fronting  the  water,  from 
Wall  street  to  Maiden  Lane,  for  25  shillings  a  foot,  and  from  there  to  Cliff 
street  for  18  shillings  a  foot.  From  Cliff  street  to  Beekman  street  it  was 
sold  for  15  shillings  a  foot.  Water  lots  were  sold  at  one  shilling  a  foot.  On 
December  8  of  this  year  a  piece  of  ground  was  granted  for  the  Dutch  church 
in  Exchange  Place,  between  Broad  and  William  streets,  "175  feet  on  the 
north  and  180  feet  on  the  south,  for  180  current  pieces  of  eight,  at  six  shill- 
ings a  piece,  to  be  paid  upon  sealing  the  patents."  The  church  first  built  on 
this  spot  was  erected  in  1693.  The  lot  was  not  to  be  appropriated  to  any 
other  use  or  assigned  to  any  other  person. 

About  this  time  money  was  noticeably  scarce,  as  the  Recorder,  Mr. 
Graham,  was  ordered  to  be  paid  half  of  i32  10s.,  which  was  the  amount 
of  the  city's  indebtedness  to  him,  and  the  other  half  as  soon  as  the  fire  money 
was  received,  "reserving  in  hand  what  may  be  sufficient  to  supply  the  poor." 

Benjamin  Fletcher,  the  new  Governor,  arrived  from  England  this  year, 
to  succeed  Governor  Slaughter,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  it 
was  agreed  "that  there  be  a  treat  made  to  welcome  him  to  this  city,  to  the 
value  of  £20,  Alderman  William  Merritt  to  provide  the  same  accordingly." 

Surveyors  were  appointed  in  1691  to  lay  out  streets  and  lots,  for  each 
of  which  they  were  to  receive  six  shillings.  Of  their  work  a  chronicler  of 
the  history  of  New  York  says: 

"The  moderate  expectations  of  the  founders  of  the  city  as  to  its  future 
extent  and  influence,  together  with  the  European  notions  imbibed  by  them 
as  to  the  compactness  and  n'arrowness  of  streets,  as  in  the  Continental  cities, 
caused  that  closeness  and  irregularity  in  the  ancient  form  and  aspect  of  the 
city  which  has  devolved  on  their  posterity  a  full  measure  of  vexation  and  ex- 
pense in  remedying  the  mistakes  of  their  ancestors." 

As  early  as  1614  the  first  street  mentioned  is  Pearl  street,  which  was 
near  the  south  walls  of  Port  Amsterdam  and  under  command  of  its  guns.  It 
was  so  located  to  protect  its  inhabitants  from  the  savages.  Other  streets 
were  soon  after  formed  in  the  vicinity,  with  a  similar  precaution  in  view. 
In  1653  the  great  wall  was  erocted  across  the  island,  and  stood  until  1699. 
when  the  increase  of  population  and  the  scarcity  of  building  room  within 
it  forced  its  demolition. 

This  wall  was  of  earth  and  palisadoes,  with  two  gates  (or  poorts),  the 
so-called  land  gate  in  Broadway,  corner  of  Wall  street,  and  the  water  gate 
in  Wall  street,  corner  of  Pearl  street,  then  close  to  the  water.  Outside  of  the 
wall  were  six  houses  and  one  windmill  on  the  highest  land,  and  inside  of  it 
were  114  houses. 

Some  of  the  streets  assumed  the  winding  shape  of  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  island.     Pearl  street  began  at  the  Battery  and  fronted  on  the  water,  and 


iS  CRADLE    DAYS     OF     XEIV     YORK. 

other  streets  paralleled  it.  The  cross  streets  were  laid  out  where  the  least 
obstruction  of  hill  or  valley  presented  itself.  There  were  uo  steam  shovels 
then,  and  the  natives  could  not  cut  down  and  level  the  entire  face  of  the 
island,  as  the  builders  of  a  later  generation  have  done.  Objection  was  made, 
indeed,  by  the  directors  of  the  West  India  Trading  Company,  when  in  1656 
the  first  plan  of  the  city  was  sent  to  Holland,  that  the  width  of  the  streets 
was  unnecessary  and  that  too  much  space  was  allotted  to  gardens  and  open 
grounds. 

The  colonists  were  preparing  for  family  quarrels  in  1691,  as  it  was  or- 
dered "that  there  be  a  ducking  stool  built  forthwith  upon  the  wharfs  before 
the  towne-house"  (Coenties  Slip,  between  Pearl  and  Water  streets). 

Abram  de  Peyster  became  Mayor  in  1692,  and  he  recommended  that  the 
city  make  one  wharf  fronting  King  street  (now  Pine  street),  thirty  feet 
wide,  and  two  other  wharfs,  twelve  feet  wide,  one  on  each  side  of  Maiden 
Slip  (?),  running  to  high-water  mark.  It  appears  that  the  tide  entered  up 
the  street  as  far  as  William  street.  "Spuyten  Devil"  Creek  bridge  was  built 
in  this  year. 

July  8,  1693 — "Ordered  that  the  Mayor  doe  provide  a  coat  of  the  city 
livery,  with  a  badge  of  the  city  arms,  shoes  and  stockings  for  the  bellman, 
and  charge  it  to  the  account  of  the  city."  Also,  "ordered  that  the  Recorder 
doe  draw  up  an  address  to  congratulate  his  excellency  on  his  safe  return 
from  Albany."  An  historian  of  old  New  York  in  1829,  commenting  upon 
this  incident,  calls  attention  with  evident  pride  to  the  fact  that  methods 
of  transportation  had  greatly  improved  in  the  interval,  the  trip  from  Al- 
bany requiring  but  twelve  (12)  hours,  instead  of  four  days  as  formerly. 
Further,  it  was  ordered  "that  the  Mayor  doe  provide  a  cup  of  gold  to  the 
value  of  one  hundred  pounds,  to  be  presented  unto  his  excellency  on  behalf 
of  this  city,  as  a  token  of  their  gratitude."  The  Mayor  bought  of  Peter 
Jacob  Marius  twentj^  ounces  of  gold  for  the  cup.  at  a  cost  of  £106,  for  which 
he  and  others  gave  their  bonds,  and  desired  a  fund  might  be  raised  to  pay 
the  same,  and  it  was  ordered  that  the  revenue  of  the  ferry  between  the  city 
and  Brooklyn,  "which  doth  annually  arise,  be  not  converted  unto  any  other 
use  whatsoever  until  the  said  one  hundred  and  six  pounds  be  paid  as  above." 

John  Arsoon,  a  farmer  and  the  lessee 'of  the  ferry  mentioned,  had  com- 
plained of  his  inability  to  pay  the  rent  (£147)  of  the  ferry,  and  had  it  re- 
duced to  £140  this  year,  and  in  the  same  old  document  which  notes  this 
startling  information  is  this  remark:  "Thus  nearly^  a  whole  year's  income 
from  this  source  was  absorbed  in  this  expensive  golden  cup — the  first  of  the 
kind  ever  presented  by  the  corporation." 

In  1694  the  colonists  had  "a  chiel  amang  them  takin'  notes"  in  the  per- 
son of  William  Bradford,  printer.  Further  on  a  full  history  will  be  given  of 
Bradford  and  his  work.  "Kid  the  pirate  committed  great  depredations  on 
the  coast  about  this  time." 

Lots  of  ground  in  Wall  street  in  this  year  were  ordered  sold  at  30  shil- 
lings a  foot,  and  lots  nearer  the  water  at  24  shillings  a  foot.  The  market 
house  in  Broadway  was  let  to  Henry  Crosby  for  a  farm  for  £1  a  year. 

James  Graham,  the  Recorder,  was  granted  in  perpetuity  a  lot  in  Queen 
street  (Pearl  street),  "thirty  feet  in  breadth  in  front  and  forty-four  feet  in 
the  rear." 


CHAPTER   III. 


(1694-1700.) 


Old  New  York  the  Flour  City— First  Episcopal  Place  of  Worship— First 

City  Hall— First  Hospital— Start  of  Shipbuilding  Industiy- 

First  Lighting  System— Law  to  "Hang  Popish  Priests." 

The  name  Flour  City  was  given  to  old  New  York  primarily,  as  she 
produced  after  1683  a  grade  that  had  preference  in  all  foreign  markets. 
It  engaged  the  services  of  two-thirds  of  her  population  in  bolting  and 
packing,  and  from  it  she  derived  a  large  revenue.  Indeed,  so  steady  was 
the  increase  in  revenue  and  population  from  the  furtherance  of  this  in- 
dustry that  in  1697,  about  eighty  years  after  the  beginning  of  the  settle- 
ment, there  were  4,302  inhabitants,  and  in  1699  there  were  6,000.  The 
framers  of  the  law  of  1683,  by  which  this  monopoly  was  given  to  the  colony, 
compelled  a  rigid  system  of  inspection  of  all  flour  made  for  export,  and 
because  of  this  it  maintained  its  supremacy  over  the  flour  of  the  Old  World 
and  enriched  its  producers. 

In  a  petition  to  the  Legislature  in  1695,  when  an  attempt  was  made  to 
repeal  the  law,  the  Corporation  of  New  York  stated  that  when  the  bolting 
of  flour  began,  in  1678,  there  v/ere  only  384  houses,  as  against  983  in  1695; 
that  the  revenue  for  the  three  years  after  1678  was  £2,000,  and  in  1687  it 
had  increased  to  £5,000;  that  in  1678  there  were  3  ships,  7  boats  and  8 
sloops  engaged  in  the  traffic,  as  against  60  ships,  4  0  boats  and  25  sloops 
in  1694. 

The  law,  however,  had  become  odious  and  oppressive  to  the  country 
people,  and  their  growing  influence  with  the  Governor  and  the  Legislature 
caused  its  repeal  in  1699,  but  not  without  a  long  and  strenuous  resistance 
from  the  city  authorities,  who  were  loath  to  have  such  a  lucrative  monopoly 
taken  from  them. 

In  1696  Trinity  Church  was  built,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Vesey  holding  the  fii-st 
service  in  it  on  February  6,  1697.  It  was  originally  a  small  edifice,  but  was 
enlarged  in  1735  and  1737. 

The  first  place  of  worship  in  the  old  city  used  by  the  Episcopalians  was 
the  small  church  built  by  the  Dutch  in  1640  inside  Fort  Amsterdam.  Its 
service  was  in  accordance  with  that  of  the  Church  of  Holland  and  prevailed 
until  1664,  when  the  fort  and  everything  within  its  wall  was  taken  pos- 
session of  by  the  British  troops.  It  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  March  18,  1741, 
as  the  result  of  the  negro  uprising. 

During  the  fire  which  destroyed  the  southwest  part  of  the  city  on 
September  21,   1776,  the  venerable  edifice  of  Trinity  met  its  fate  and  lay 

19 


,-o  CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK. 

in  ruins  during  the  war  and  for  several  years  after.  The  present  structure 
was  rebuilt  in  1788  and  consecrated  in  1791  by  Bishop  Provost.  It  is  not 
as  long  as  the  old  church,  but  is  the  same  width,  with  a  steeple  twenty  feet 
higher.  The  ground  was  gratuitously  ceded  to  the  vestry  by  the  cor- 
poration of  the  city  in  1702,  on  condition  that  it  should  always  be  neatly 
fenced  in,  and  burials  in  it  granted  to  the  citizens  forever  for  the  fee  of 
3s.  6d.  for  grown  persons  and  Is.  6d.  for  all  under  twelve  years  of  age. 

On  June  26,  1696,  a  city  hall  was  ordered  built  on  the  corner  of  Nassau 
and  Wall  streets,  to  cost  i3,000.  It  was  a  modest,  plain,  substantial  edifice, 
sufiBcient  for  those  days  of  primitive  simplicity,  and  continued,  with  occa- 
sional repairs  and  alterations,  until  after  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Prior 
to  the  assembling  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  in  this  city  in  1787 
and  1789  the  building  was  altered  and  enlarged  for  its  accommodation  by 
the  corporation,  and  remained  so  until  demolished  in  1811.  It  had  a  spa- 
cious portico  projecting  into  Wall  street  several  feet  and  resting  on  arches, 
with  arcades  underneath,  extending  around  into  Nassau  street.  From  the 
portico  of  the  second  story,  facing  Broad  street,  General  Washington  was 
inaugurated  first  President  of  the  United  States. 

That  the  readers  of  this  chronology  of  old  New  York  may  know  the 
inception  of  the  City  Hall  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back  to  1642,  when  the 
town  was  yet  in  its  infancy.  In  that  year,  that  the  citizens  might  have  a 
building  in  which  to  assemble,  a  "Stadt-Huys,"  or  State  House,  was  built 
on  the  corner  of  Pearl  street  and  Coenties  alley,  fronting  the  slip,  by  the 
West  India  Trading  Company,  and  called  their  tavern.  In  it  strangers 
who  could  not  be  conveniently  received  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  the 
Governor  were  entertained,  and  the  most  important  affairs  of  the  city  and 
colony  were  transacted.  It  sheltered  the  first  school  in  1652,  and  the  first 
court  of  admiralty,  organized  by  Governor  Nichols  in  1665.  Courts  were 
held  and  transfers  of  sovereignty  were  made  in  it  in  1664  and  1674.  Here 
also  was  the  first  jail  of  the  city.  In  front  of  the  building  the  militia 
paraded,  and  the  stocks,  whipping  post  and  ducking  stools  were  there.  In 
1699  it  was  in  such  a  decayed  and  dangerous  state  that  at  a  public  sale 
John  Rodman,  a  merchant,  bought  it  for  £920. 

The  second  City  Hall  was  erected  in  1700  at  the  north  end  of  Broad 
street,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  present  building,  which  few  know  is  of 
native  white  marble,  fi-om  Stockbridge,  Mass.  Its  foundation  stone  was 
laid  on  September  26,  1803,  and  it  was  finished  in  1812  at  a  cost,  exclusive 
of  the  furniture,  of  half  a  million  dollars. 

Soil  was  valuable,  apparently,  in  1696,  for  Captain  Teunis  De  Kay 
petitioned  that  "a  carte  way  be  made  leading  out  of  the  Broad  street  to  the 
street  that  runs  by  the  Pye-woman's  (now  Nassau  street),  leading  to  the 
commons  of  the  city  (now  the  park) ;  and  that  he  will  undertake  to  doo  the 
same  provided  he  may  have  the  soyle."  Complaints  of  a  great  scarcity  of 
bread  existed  in  this  year. 

In  1697  Church  street  was  laid  out,  and  a  city  watch  of  four  sober  men 
was  ordered  by  the  Council. 

The  simple  and  cheap  method  of  first  lighting  the  city  is  given  under 
date  of  November  23,  1697,  in  a  resolution:  "This  board,  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  great  inconveniency  that  attend  this  city,   being  a  trading 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  21 

place,  for  want  of  having  lights  in  the  'dark  time  of  the  moon'  in  the 
winter  season;  It  is  therefore  ordered  that  all  and  every  of  the  house- 
keepers within  this  city  shall  put  out  lights  in  their  windows  fronting  the 
respective  streets  of  the  said  city,  according  to  such  manner  and  rule  as 
shall  be  directed  by  the  Mayor,  two  Aldermen  and  two  assistants,  under 
the  penalty  of  ninepence  for  each  night  of  default."  And  on  December  2  it 
was  "ordered  that  every  seventh  house  do  hang  out  a  pole  with  a  lantern 
and  candle;  and  the  said  seven  houses  to  pay  equal  portions  of  the  expense." 

The  Earl  of  Belamont  succeeded  Governor  Fletcher.  He  received  his 
commission  in  June,  1697,  but  did  not  arrive  until  April,  1698,  when  four 
barrels  of  powder  were  ordered  purchased  to  salute  him. 

A  peculiar  ceremony  was  instituted  in  this  year.  A  pew  was  built  in 
Trinity  Church  for  the  use  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  their  successors, 
v.'ith  the  understanding  that  the  Mayor-elect,  accompanied  by  others  in 
authority,  should  proceed  in  grand  procession  from  the  City  Hall  to  the 
church,  where  divine  service  would  be  performed  and  a  sermon  preached 
by  the  rector,  after  which  the  party  would  proceed  to  Fort  William  Henry 
and  wait  on  the  Governor,  and  the  Mayor  on  his  return  would  be  sworn  in 
at  the  City  Hall.  This  ceremony  was  regularly  continued  until  the  Revo- 
lution. 

Who  would  not  be  Enoch  Hill,  the  first  Mayor's  marshal?  On  No- 
vember 9,  1698,  Mayor  De  Peyster  appointed  him  "marshall  and  messenger 
to  the  Common  Council;  and  hitherto  having  found  him  very  diligent  in  his 
duty,  desires  that  for  his  encouragement  he  be  allowed  a  coat,  breeches,  hat, 
shoes  and  stockings,  and  a  cloak  of  the  city  livery,  and  a  Boodle's  staff,  at 
the  city  charge."  It  was  ordered  that  the  Mayor  purchase  the  same  at  the 
city  charge;  that  "the  livery  be  blew,  with  an  orange  list." 

Hawkers  or  pedlers  of  to-day  should  know  that  the  beginning  of  their 
troubles  was  August  9,  1699.  A  penalty  of  twenty  shillings  was  placed  on 
them  then  each  time  they  peddled  their  goods  around  the  streets.  The  law, 
however,  spurred  them  on  to  petition  for  the  establishing  of  a  market  at 
Coenties  Slip  (then  called  Countess's  Key),  to  be  built  at  their  own  expense, 
which  was  granted  by  the  Council. 

The  movement  for  the  establishing  of  the  first  hospital  in  the  city  took 
place  on  September  6  of  this  year  in  the  following  order  to  the  Mayor: 
"Ordered  that  the  Mayor  agree  with  some  person  for  the  keeping  of  an 
hospital  for  the  maintenance  of  the  poor  of  this  city,  upon  the  most  easy 
terms  that  may  be;  and  also  that  he  hire  a  house  suitable  for  that  occasion." 
And  the  inhabitants  of  Haarlaem  were  permitted  to  erect  one  mill,  and  no 
more,  "provided  they  do  not  hinder  the  passage  of  sloops  or  boats  round 
Manhattan  Island!" 

Here  is  the  basis  of  paternalism  by  the  old  city:  "William  Sharpas, 
town  clerk,  had  a  grant  of  land  from  high  to  low  water  mark  of  one  hundred 
feet  for  his  good  and  faithful  services  for  seven  years  past,  and  his  encourag- 
ment  to  continue  so  for  the  future." 

Many  people  will  wonder  whether  Clement  Ellsworth  was  the  pioneer 
of  that  great  industry,  shipbuilding,  which  for  years  gave  employment  to 
thousands  of  New  Yorkers.  The  only  record  of  the  establishment  of  a  yard 
for  the  carrying  on  of  this  work,  however,  is  that  of  October  16,  160D.     It 


22  CRADLE    D^iYS     OF    NEW     YOKK. 

fronted   the   East    River   and   undoubtedly   made   that   section    of   the   city- 
reputed  throughout  the  country  as  the  shipbuilding  centre. 

Isaac  D.  Dromer  was  Mayor  in  1700  and  witnessed  the  passing  by  the 
Legislature  of  a  law  to  "hang  every  popish  priest  who  entered  the  colony  to 
entice  the  Indians  from  their  allegiance."  An  historian  of  1810  gives  the 
cause  for  the  existence  of  this  law  in  the  following  extract  taken  from  the 
"History  of  the  Negro  Plot": 

"Our  Dutch  forefathers,  glowing  with  all  the  zeal  of  the  early  re- 
formers, emigrated  to  this  country  shortly  after  the  emancipation  of  the 
United  Netherlands  from  the  Spanish  yoke,  and  fostered  all  the  rancor  of 
their  race  against  Papists  and  Spaniards.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  English 
Government  to  cherish  this  animosity.  The  act  of  our  Provincial  Assembly 
against  Jesuits  and  Priests,  which  continued  in  full  force  until  our  inde- 
pendence, v/as  owing  not  only  to  those  prejudices,  but  to  the  exposed 
situation  of  the  colony,  the  northern  frontier  of  which  was  bounded  by 
Canada,  at  that  time  in  possession  of  France,  the  natural  and  ever  daring 
enemy  of  England.  The  intolerant  spirit  of  this  act  shows  the  horror  and 
detestation  in  which  the  Roman  Catholics  were  held,  and  will  account  for 
the  scarcity,  before  the  Revolution,  in  this  city  and  colony  of  those  who 
professed  this  faith. 

"In  estimating  this  singular  event  in  our  colonial  history,  the  circum- 
stances of  the  times  should  be  duly  considered  before  we  condemn  the 
bigotry  and  cruelty  of  our  predecessors.  The  advantage  of  a  liberal,  indeed 
of  the  plainest,  education  was  the  happy  lot  of  very  few;  ignorance  and 
illiberal  prejudices  universally  prevailed,  and  their  more  favored  and  en- 
lightened posterity  will  therefore  draw  a  veil  of  filial  affection  over  the 
Involuntary  errors  of  their  forefathers  and  endeavor  to  transmit  a  brighter 
example  to  their  successors." 

The  colonists  were  not  lacking  in  uniformity  of  thought  or  fealty  to 
ideals,  as  the  following  bespeaks:  "Ordered  that  the  Mayor  provide  firewood 
for  bonfires  on  the  fourth  and  fifth  days  of  this  instant  month  of  November, 
being  the  birthday  of  our  sovereign  lord,  King  William,  and  gunpowder 
treason;  and  that  the  Mayor  pay  to  the  Rev.  William  Vesey  the  sum  of  five 
pounds  for  preaching  a  sermon  before  this  court  on  the  14th  of  October  last." 


CHAPTER   IV. 


(1700-1711.) 


Geologic  History  of  New  York — Beginning  of  the  De  Peyster  Fortune 

— ''The  Great  Sickness" — The  First  Schoolmaster — Presentation 

of  King's  Farm  to  Trinity — First  Licensed  Auctioneer. 

An  outline  of  the  geologic  history  of  New  York  two  hundred  years  ago 
may  be  of  interest  to  the  student  of  this  science,  as  it  makes  a  strong  appeal 
to  the  imagination  because  of  the  vastness  of  time  over  which  it  extends. 

At  some  indefinite  and  distant  age  the  present  New  York  harbor  was  a 
mere  expansion  in  the  course  of  the  Hudson  River,  which  found  its  exit 
into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  some  hundred  miles  seaward  from  where  it  de- 
bouches to-day.  Manhattan  Island  presented  then  a  far  higher  wall  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river  and  the  Palisades  a  loftier  escarpment  on  the  west. 
The  Hudson  received  the  water  discharged  by  the  Housatonic,  which  en- 
circled the  raised  promontory  of  Governor's  Island  and  mingled  its  tides 
with  those  of  the  Hudson  along  the  shores  of  Ellis  and  Bedlow's  Islands, 
then  united  to  the  mainland.  Further  south,  at  the  opening  of  the  present 
ch£,nnel  of  the  Kill  van  Kull,  the  Passaic,  swollen  by  the  waters  of  the 
Hackensack,  united  its  floods  with  the  two  rivers,  and  the  combined 
volume  of  water  swept  past  Staten  Island  through  the  Narrows  outward  to 
the  edge  of  the  continent,  where  to-day  eighty  miles  from  the  shore  the 
floor  of  the  coast  plain  sinks  steeply  to  the  abysmal  depths  of  the  ocean. 

As  was  mentioned  before,  the  marble  of  which  the  present  City  Hall  is 
built  came  from  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  while  twelve  miles  from  New  York,  near 
the  mouth  of  Kingsbridge  Creek,  according  to  authoritative  information,  a 
range  of  this  stone  extended,  with  partial  interruptions,  as  far  as  Ver- 
planck's  Point.  The  inhabitants  were  not  aware  of  the  riches  within  their 
reach.  Writing  of  this  in  1815  the  authority  spoken  of  says:  "This  marble 
forms  the  most  valuable  building  stone,  and  as  it  lies  convenient  to  the 
river,  and  can  be  obtained  of  any  size  and  form,  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  it  has  not  long  ago  superseded  the  unsightly  red  sandstone  we  are  so 
fond  of  using.  It  only  requires  to  be  a  little  more  used  and  it  will  become 
fashionable.  Habits  of  long  standing  are  difficult  to  eradicate,  but  it  will 
not  be  long  before  the  good  sense  of  our  fellow-citizens  will  discard  the 
brick  and  sandstone  and  build  all  their  houses  of  this  material." 

In  surveys  made  of  the  island  early  in  1700  it  was  declared  to  be  essen- 
tially primitive.  No  transition  or  secondary  rocks  could  be  found  in  it. 
It  was  of  one  formation,  granite,  in  some  places  overlaid  by  other  rocks.    At 

23 


24  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

the  southern  extremity  from  the  Battery,  reaching  along  the  East  River  as 
far  as  Coenties  Slip,  and  on  the  Hudson  as  far  as  Thames  street,  it  is  said 
there  was  a  range  of  sharp  and  rugged  rocks  of  schistose  mica.  Great  quan- 
tities of  garnets  were  gathered  there,  and  further  up  the  Hudson  different 
varieties  of  minerals  were  to  be  found,  such  as  black  and  brown  tourmaline, 
beryl  and  actinolite.  Near  Harlem  true  granite  and  schistose  mica  existed. 
One  geologist  says  that  a  compact,  close  grained  black  magnesian  stone, 
with  radiated  spots  of  white  asbestos,  was  found  on  the  shore  of  the  Hudson 
five  miles  from  the  city,  springing  from  the  granite  rocks  which  surrounded 
it  and  not  connected  with  anything  of  a  similar  nature.  Porcelain  clay  has 
been  found  on  the  island  in  small  quantities. 

L.  P.  Gratacap  says:  "The  rock  floor  on  which  our  city  is  built  ex- 
isted in  the  earliest  geologic  age.  Spurs  from  the  archaean  mountain  range 
on  the  Atlantic  border  reached  southward  in  Westchester  county  and  in 
western  Connecticut,  and  one  of  these  formed  the  nucleal  member  of  the 
geology  of  Manhattan,  a  peninsulated  tract  built  outward  by  additions  of 
sediments.  This  tract,  elevated  by  a  superficial  contraction  of  the  earth's 
crust,  became  modified  by  metamorphism,  invaded  by  dike  rocks  and  miner- 
alized by  chemical  readjustment  of  its  elements.  Except  in  so  far  as  acted 
upon  by  atmospheric  agencies  and  by  the  glaciers  of  the  ice  age,  it  has, 
however,  undergone  no  geologic  modification  during  the  long  periods  of 
time  since  the  close  of  the  lower  Silurian." 

We  read  that  in  1700  the  corporation  sold  two  hundred  acres  of  land 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  for  £  1  an  acre,  and  that  his  majesty's  Receiver 
General,  J.  De  Peyster,  farmed  to  old  New  York  the  whole  revenue  and 
excise  of  King's  county,  on  Long  Island,  for  one  year  for  the  sum  of  £  40. 
The  income  from  the  two  hundred  acres  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  has  no 
doubt  in  the  last  two  hundred  years  been  the  source  of  enjoyment  or  the 
cause  of  misery;  the  foundation  of  a  line  of  mere  money  owners,  or  the 
birth  of  a  philanthropist;  the  egg  from  which  a  thinker  sprung,  or  the 
chrysalis  which  let  loose  a  careless  butterfly  of  fashion. 

In  1701  Governor  Bellamont  died.  Two  months  after  his  death,  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  Lieutenant  Governor  Nanfan  from  Barbadoes,  the  colony 
was  in  a  confused  state;  the  people  were  split  into  factions,  and  party 
spirit  was  raging.  Edward  Hyde,  Lord  Cornburj',  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of 
Clarendon,  was  appointed  Governor  of  New  York  and  the  Jerseys,  and 
Captain  General.  He  was  a  reckless  adventurer  and  profligate,  whose  sole 
claim  to  this  command  rested  on  his  kinship  to  royalty.  So  eager  was  he 
to  acquire  wealth,  wholly  regardless  of  the  wishes  or  interests  of  his  sub- 
jects, that  he  alienated  their  affections.  A  public  dinner  was  given  in 
honor  of  his  arrival,  and  he  was  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city  in 
a  gold  box.  In  honor  of  the  opening  of  his  administration,  his  first  act  v.'as 
to  "order  that  all  the  soldiers  of  his  majesty's  garrison.  Fort  William 
Henry,  in  this  city,  that  are  his  majesty's  natural  born  subjects,  be  made 
freemen  of  this  corporation  gratis,  any  former  law  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing, and  that  Mr.  Mayor  administer  unto  them  the  oath  of  a  freeman, 
and  grant  unto  them  certificates  of  the  same,  under  the  seal  of  the  city  ac- 
cordingly." Those  who  were  too  poor  to  purchase  their  freedom  were  also 
made  freemen.     This  gave  them,  as  freemen,  the  right  to  trade,  to  vote  and 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  25 

to  be  voted  for,  and  to  share  in  all  other  municipal  privileges.     The  docks 
and  slips  of  the  city  in  this  year  were  farmed  for  i25  a  year. 

The  months  of  June  and  July,  1702,  caused  much  alarm  to  the  natives 
of  old  New^  York,  for  they  brought  the  first  severe  shock  to  the  community. 
The  Mayor,  Thomas  Hood,  died,  and  so  great  was  the  sickness  prevailing 
that  the  General  Assembly  was  held  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island.  Seventeen 
persons  died  in  one  day!  The  disease  strongly  resembled  yellow  fever,  and 
was  imported  from  St.  Thomas.  The  epidemic  was  long  remembered  as 
"the  great  sickness  of  New  York." 

On  October  19  Philip  French  succeeded  to  the  mayoralty,  and  during 
his  term  a  grammar  school  was  established.  The  corporation  sent  over  to 
the  Bishop  of  London  for  a  schoolmaster,  "as  there  is  not  any  person  within 
this  city  (with  whose  conveniency  it  would  be  agreeable)  proper  and  duly 
qualified  to  take  upon  himself  the  office  of  schoolmaster  of  the  said  city." 
It  was  also  recommended  that  "the  Bishop  of  London  send  over  hither  a 
person  of  good  learning,  of  pious  life  and  virtuous  conversation,  of  English 
extract,  and  of  good  and  mild  temper,  and  a  part  of  the  King's  farm  to  be 
given  for  his  support."  It  was  not  until  1705  that  the  school  u-as  estab- 
lished, with  Andrew  Clarke  as  master.  This  was  before  Yale  College  had 
begun  to  send  forth  its  annual  supply  of  teachers,  and  previous  to  the 
establishment  of  any  college  in  this  city.  The  charter  of  the  city  was  first 
printed  in  this  year. 

William  Peartree  became  Mayor  on  October  4,  1703.  This  year  the 
King's  Farm  was  presented  by  Queen  Anne  to  Trinity  Church,  and  the 
foundation  of  immense  revenues  was  laid. 

The  French  Protestants  who  fled  from  their  country  after  the  revoca- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  by  Louis  XIV  in  1685,  which  deprived  them 
of  their  religious  freedom,  built  in  1704  the  Church  du  St.  Esprit,  which 
stood  in  Pine  street,  near  Nassau.  The  worshippers,  according  to  the  old 
chroniclers,  were  "most  industrious,  most  intelligent  and  most  religious, 
and  worshipped  in  their  native  tongue."  Mention  was  made  of  the  religious 
zeal  of  the  American  Huguenots  in  a  previous  article. 

The  Church  du  St.  Esprit  was  built  in  the  plainest  style,  of  stone, 
plastered  outside;  it  had  a  very  steep  roof  and  a  venerable  looking  tower. 
Annexed  to  it  was  a  cemetery.  The  march  of  improvement  caused  its  demo- 
lition in  the  middle  of  1800,  and  Mammon  now  reigns  where  the  Nazarene's 
example  was  preached  and  prayers  of  thanks  were  offered  by  the  Huguenots 
for  the  liberty  to  worship  extended  to  them  in  America. 

On  April  3  of  this  year  the  "Widow  Rombouts  and  several  other 
persons  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway  are  leveling  the  fortifications,  and 
about  to  fence  in  the  street  fronting  to  Hudson  River."  This  was  so  im- 
portant then  that  "Alderman  Hutchings  and  Mr.  Laroux  are  ordered  to 
forthwith  warn  them  from  so  doing,  upon  pain  of  being  prosecuted  at  law." 

On  April  11  a  petition  was  made  to  the  authorities  "by  sundry  prin- 
cipal inhabitants  of  this  city"  to  prevent  retail  and  wholesale  vendues  of 
goods  within  the  city  ("except  by  the  freemen  thereof"),  "the  same  having 
drained  not  only  this  city,  but  the  whole  province,  of  current  cash,  to  the 
very  great  grievance  of  the  citizens."  At  this  early  date  it  appears  the 
auction  system  was  an  evil  of  magnitude,  entailing  hardships,  on  the  people. 


26  CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK. 

but  legal  restraint  was  not  inaugurated,  nor  were  they  taxed  in  any 
manner. 

The  population  of  New  York  in  1700  was  6,000,  so  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, and  the  people  went  about  their  pursuits  "in  a  stolid  and  God- 
fearing manner."  On  May  25,  1704,  the  city  owned  8,925  feet  of  land 
"between  Mr.  Beeckman's  and  low  water  mark,  which  was  ordered  not  to 
be  sold  at  less  than  threepence  a  foot."  This  land  was  situated  in  the 
heart  of  the  city,  near  the  Battery,  and  a  fair  valuation  now  would  be 
$150  a  front  foot.  Wall  street,  from  Smith  street  (William  street)  to  the 
English  Church,  was  paved  on  the  south  side  in  this  year. 

The  first  site  occupied  by  the  Society  of  Friends  as  a  meeting  house 
was  in  Green  street  alley,  between  Liberty  street  and  Maiden  Lane.  They 
held  services  here  from  1704  to  1740,  when  they  moved  to  Liberty  street.  In 
1775  they  erected  a  house  in  Pearl  street.  It  gave  way  to  the  increase  of 
population  and  the  change  of  the  residential  quarter. 

In  the  autumn  of  1705  considerable  excitement  was  occasioned  by  the 
appearance  of  three  English  privateers,  bringing  a  Spanish  man-of-war  of 
twenty  guns  as  a  prize  into  the  harbor.  The  soldiers  were  elated  with  their 
victory,  and  during  a  quarrel  which  arose  killed  a  young  lieutenant. 

The  year  1706  witnessed  the  first  threatened  attack  on  the  city  by  a 
squadron  of  the  French.  War  had  been  proclaimed  by  England  against 
France  and  Spain,  and  the  Assembly  of  1703,  deeming  it  expedient  to  in- 
crease the  fortifications,  voted  £1,500  for  the  erection  of  two  batteries  at 
the  Narrows,  with  the  provision  that  the  money  should  be  used  for  no  other 
purpose.  It  was  raised  by  a  poll  tax,  each  member  of  the  council  to  pay 
40  shillings;  an  Assemblyman,  20  shillings;  a  lawyer  in  practice,  20  shil- 
lings; every  man  wearing  a  periwig,  five  shillings  and  sixpence;  a  bachelor 
of  twenty-five  years  and  upward,  two  shillings  and  threepence;  every  free- 
man between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty,  ninepence,  and  the  owners  of 
slaves,  one  shilling  for  each.  The  sum  was  raised,  but  regardless  of  the 
conditions  the  Governor  drew  it  from  the  treasury  and  applied  it  to  his  own 
use,  refusing  to  account  to  any  one  for  its  expenditure.  The  Assembly  de- 
manded a  treasurer,  declaring  they  were  Englishmen  and  had  a  right  to 
control  their  own  money.  Cornbury  dissolved  the  body  with  the  remark, 
"I  know  of  no  right  that  you  have,  except  such  as  the  Queen  is  pleased 
to  allow  you."  A  new  Assembly  was  convened  by  him,  but  it  followed  in 
the  footsteps  of  its  predecessor,  and  would  not  bow,  and  so  the  city  Avas 
left  defenceless.  A  French  privateer  had  entered  the  harbor  and  terrified 
the  inhabitants,  and  they  had  no  security  against  other  visitants.  They 
had  already  paid  for  defence,  and  were  not  willing  to  make  another  invest- 
ment, to  be  appropriated  as  was  the  first.  Necessity  knew  no  law,  how- 
ever, and  £3,000  was  voted,  but  the  consent  of  Cornbury  could  not  be  ob- 
tained to  have  it  disbursed  by  a  person  of  the  people's  choosing.  The 
French  fleet  was  hourly  expected,  and  the  citizens  were  summoned  to  aid 
in  the  work  of  strengthening  the  town  with  the  money  appropriated.  No 
attack  was  made  on  the  city,  however,  and  the  people  were  happy. 

Water  street  was  extended  from  Old  Slip  to  John  street,  and  Broadway 
was  paved  from  Trinity  Church  to  the  Bowling  Green  in  1707.  These  pave- 
ments were  of  cobblestone,  the  curbs  of  wood,   the  gutters  were   in  the 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  27 

middle  of  the  streets,  and  brick  was  used  for  the  sidewalks.  One  of  the 
markets  established  in  1691  by  the  Common  Council  in  the  following  order 
was  demolished:  "That  there  be  markets,  one  in  Broadway  over  against 
the  fort,  the  other  under  the  trees  by  the  Slipp;  and  that  the  butchers  shall 
be  obliged  to  keep  flesh  in  both  places,  and  that  the  country  people  shall 
bring  flesh  to  each  of  the  two  places,  and  that  no  butchers'  meat  be  killed 
within  the  city  gates  (or  south  of  Wall  street).  Secondly,  that  eggs,  butter 
and  poultry  be  brought  to  said  places  for  sayle.  Thirdly,  that  fish  be 
brought  into  the  dock  over  against  the  City  Hall  (in  Pearl  street  and  Coen- 
ties  Slip),  or  the  house  that  Long  Mary  formerly  lived  in;  likewise  hearbs, 
fruite,  rootes,  E  and  B." 

Again  we  have  an  example  of  intolerance.  Governor  Cornbury  pro- 
hibited Presbyterians  from  preaching  in  the  city  without  his  license,  and 
two  ministers  were  arrested  and  tried.  On  paying  costs  to  the  amount  of 
$220  they  were  acquitted  by  the  court.  Ebenezer  Wilson  was  Mayor  at  this 
time. 

The  reign  of  Cornbury  was  short,  for  he  made  himself  so  odious  in  the 
eyes  of  the  people  that  the  citizens  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  petitioned 
for  his  removal.  So  many  previous  petitions  had  been  sent  to  Queen  Anne 
that  she  yielded,  and  revoked  his  commission.  After  his  removal  his 
creditors  threw  him  into  the  debtors'  prison  in  the  upper  story  of  the  new 
City  Hall,  in  Wall  street,  from  which  his  father,  the  Earl  of  Clarendon, 
removed  him. 

Cornbury  was  succeeded  by  Lord  Lovelace  in  1708.  The  latter  died 
on  May  5,  1709,  and  was  succeeded  by  Richard  Ingoldsby,  who  began  to 
lay  heavy  taxes  on  the  people.  It  seemed  to  be  his  desire  to  oppress  the  in- 
habitants from  ulterior  motives.  They  bent  under  the  oppression,  but  did 
not  break.  Robert  Hunter,  of  Scotch  parentage,  succeeded  Ingoldsby,  who 
had  been  removed  because  of  mismanagement.  Huntar  was  a  young  soldier 
of  fortune,  the  friend  of  Addison  and  Swift,  and  the  superior  of  his  prede- 
cessors. 

Religious  persecution  in  Germany  in  1710  drove  several  hundred 
Palatinates  to  England,  whence  they  embarked  to  the  young  city.  Ten 
thousand  pounds  were  appropriated  by  parliament  to  defray  their  expenses, 
and  in  return  they  indentured  themselves  for  a  term  of  years  to  Great 
Britain,  to  manufacture  tar  for  the  naval  stores.  Thus  began  German  im- 
migration. "A  scarcity  of  food  was  feared  by  the  colonists"  because  of 
their  invasion!  They  built  a  Lutheran  church  on  the  site  afterward  occu- 
pied by  old  Grace  Church,  corner  of  Rector  street  and  Broadway.  It  stood 
until  1776,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  In  this  year  Jacobus  Van  Cort- 
landt  was  Mayor,  and  the  council  met  at  9  o'clock  in  the  forenoon. 

Preparations  for  war  engrossed  the  attention  of  the  people  in  1711. 
Governor  Hunter  had  joined  the  New  England  States  in  a  project  for 
the  conquest  of  Canada — a  favorite  scheme  of  England  at  the  time.  On 
June  28  all  the  market  houses  except  one  were  set  apart  for  the  building 
of  bateaux  to  transport  ti'oops  and  stores  to  Canada,  and  on  July  2  the 
General  Assembly  met  in  New  York  and  issued  bills  of  credit  to  the  amount 
of  £25,000  to  defray  the  expense.     The  conquest  was  a  failure,  as  the  ships 


38  CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK. 

were  lost  among  the  rocks  and  islands  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  860  men 
were  drowned.  The  corporation  this  year  passed  the  first  law  for  inden- 
turing apprentices,  the  term  of  indenture  to  be  strictly  seven  years. 

The  bartering  in  flesh — and  to  their  shame  be  it  said — began  with  the 
establishing  of  a  slave  market  in  Wall  street,  near  the  East  River,  in  1711, 
and  led  the  following  j'ear  to  an  insurrection  among  the  negroes,  who  set 
fire  to  the  city  and  killed  several  inhabitants.  Nineteen  of  the  negroes  were 
executed.  On  May  27,  1713,  the  Assmbly  passed  the  first  excise  law,  and 
the  next  year  the  corporation  raised  the  license  to  sell  strong  drinks  to  30 
shillings. 

"Cast  your  bread  upon  the  waters,"  if  only  a  ninepenny  loaf,  as  wit- 
nesseth  that  "Abraham  De  Lancey  had  liberty  to  build  an  oven  under- 
ground, opposite  his  house  in  Queen  street,  he  paying  for  the  same  a  nine- 
penny  loaf  of  bread  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  yearly,  for  the  use  of  the  poor." 


•  1.    Hi-.'  , 

i,  . — 


\M3imi<:  ■-■'■-'■ 


RE.sij'i:,:-;..;^:  uf  capt.   william  kidd,   iti9i. 

(Now  corner  Pearl  and  Hanover  streets.) 


CHAPTER    V. 


(171M729.) 


First  Poundkeeper  and  Scavenger — Heathcote  Hall — Home  for  Paupers — 

First  Public  Clock — Ropewalk  Established — First  Presbyterian  Church — 

Irish  Tuber  Introduced — First  Tax  Law — The  "New  York  Gazette." 

The  City  Fathers  of  ye  olden  time  placed  a  peculiar  estimate  on 
woman's  sphere.  "A  ministering  angel  thou"  was  poetic  fancy;  a  working 
angel  was  more  to  their  taste.  The  men  and  women  of  the  old  city  were 
engrossed  in  not  alone  getting  all  the  wealth  they  could — that  is,  as  much 
as  Queen  Anne  and  her  representative  permitted  them  to  get — but  in  hold- 
ing what  they  had.  A  record  of  June  1,  1711,  tells  that  the  widow  of 
Andreas  Donn  was  continued  in  the  office  of  scavenger  of  Broad  street,  at 
a  salary  of  11  pounds  sterling,  and  in  the  order  of  removal  of  the  city  pound 
in  this  year  Rebecca  Van  Schaick,  widow,  is  mentioned  as  poundkeeper,  for 
administering  which  office  she  received  one-half  of  the  fees,  the  other  half 
going  to  the  city. 

The  lack  of  smoothness  in  the  course  of  true  love  brought  Caleb  Heath- 
cote to  the  new  country  to  forget  his  disappoinment.  He  was  the  son  of 
the  Mayor  of  Chester,  England,  and  on  his  arrival  entered  politics  in  old 
New-York.  He  was  elected  Mayor  in  1711,  and  served  four  years;  then 
retired  to  Mamaroneck,  where  he  built  Heathcote  Hall.  His  administration 
was  without  note. 

Speculators  in  1712  began  to  look  forward  to  new  valuations  on  land, 
just  as  their  successors  are  doing  now,  and  Broadway  between  Maiden  Lane 
and  the  park,  then  considered  uptown,  was  levelled,  and  the  city  watch  in- 
creased to  six.  It  was  proposed  this  year,  as  paupers  were  beginning  to  be 
xiumerous  and  troublesome,  to  provide  a  building  where  they  could  be 
looked  after  at  the  public  expense,  but  at  the  same  time  contribute  toward 
their  own  living.  The  scheme  was  not  successful  then.  Twenty  years  after, 
however,  in  the  rear  of  the  present  City  Hall,  on  the  Commons,  a  house  was 
built  and  supplied  with  spinning  wheels  and  shoemakers'  tools,  with  the 
Idea  of  making  the  ne'er-do-well  inmates  self-sustaining.  It  lasted  for 
some  time,  but  was  manipulated  in  the  interest  of  others  who  were  not 
paupers,  and  went  to  pieces. 

John  Johnson,  a  shipping  merchant,  became  Mayor  in  1714.  With  his 
administration  the  first  public  clock  made  its  appearance.  It  was  the  gift 
of  Stephen  De  Lancey,  and  was  presented  to  the  corporation,  to  be  placed 
on  the  City  Hall  for  the  use  of  the  city.  De  Lancey  was  the  American 
ancestor  of  the  family,  and  had  fled  from  the  persecutions  of  Louis  XIV  to 
New  York.  He  was  a  representative  in  the  Assembly,  and  the  money  he 
received  as  such  (£50)  he  invested  in  the  clock. 

Historians  of  New-York  agree  that  Jacob  Leisler  and  Jacob  Milborne 
were  the  first  victims  of  the  cause  of  freedom.     The  people  had  chosen  Lels- 

29 


.?o  CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK. 

ler  to  stand  between  them  and  a  clique  of  ambitious  men  who  desired  to 
curb  their  civil  and  religious  liberties,  and  his  execution  brought  them 
closer  together,  and  made  it  almost  impossible  for  successive  Governors  to 
weaken  the  power  of  the  people  and  strengthen  that  of  the  crown — the  fixed 
policj"-  of  the  English  Government  then.  Assemblies  were  convened  and 
dissolved  from  time  to  time,  the  representatives  protesting  against  the 
acceptance  of  schemes  suggested  by  the  Governor.  In  May,  1715,  one 
Assembly  met,  and  was  dissolved  on  July  21  by  the  Governor.  In  1716  a 
new  one  met,  and  through  persuasion  granted  a  revenue  for  three  years  to 
render  officials  independent  of  the  people.  This  year  the  Governor  estab- 
lished a  Court  of  Chancery  and  appointed  himself  Chancellor,  and  the  next 
year  raised  a  tax  of  £16,607  to  extinguish  the  colony  debt. 

On  January  3,  1718,  a  ropewalk  was  established  in  Broadway,  opposite 
the  park  (then  called  the  Commons,  a  piece  of  ground  bounded  on  the  east 
and  west  by  Nassau  street  and  Broadway,  and  north  and  south  by  Chambers 
and  Ann  streets,  and  covered  with  brush  and  underwood).  Others  were 
established  afterward,  and  formed  the  basis  of  a  flourishing  trade. 

The  Presbyterians  this  year,  through  their  representatives,  Gilbert 
Livingston,  Thomas  Grant,  Patrick  MacKnight  and  John  Nicolls.  purchased 
a  piece  of  ground  in  Wall  street,  between  Broadway  and  Nassau  street,  and 
near  the  old  City  Hall,  for  the  site  of  a  church.  They  asked  permission  to 
use  the  hall  to  worship  in  until  their  church  was  built.  The  corporation 
acquiesced  on  condition  that  they  would  not  interfere  with  the  courts.  The 
following  year,  1719,  they  took  possession  of  the  newly  built  church,  the 
first  of  their  denomination  in  New  York.  What  a  change  had  come  over 
the  authorities  in  fourteen  years!  Lord  Cornbury  in  1702  aimed  at  the 
establishment  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  A  handful  of  Episcopalians  in  the 
village  of  Jamaica,  envious  of  the  prosperity  of  their  Presbyterian  neigh- 
bors, who  controlled  that  village,  sought  the  protection  of  the  Governor, 
with  the  result  that  one  Sunday  the  little  church,  which  had  been  erected 
in  the  village  by  vote  of  the  inhabitants,  but  without  provision  for  secur- 
ing it  for  any  particular  denomination,  was  taken  possession  of  by  them. 
The  Governor  sustained  the  claims  of  the  Episcopalians,  and  litigation  fol- 
lowed, but  they  retained  possession  until  1728.  The  esculent  Irish  tuber 
was  introduced  in  New  England  in  1718  by  a  colony  of  Irish  emigrants, 
who  settled  in  Maine,  and  had  brought  it  from  Europe,  where  it  had  been 
introduced  from  Virginia.  Its  cultivation  rapidly  extended  to  New  York, 
and  was  a  valuable  boon  to  the  colony.    May  they  never  grow  less! 

Dn  July  31,  1719,  Governor  Hunter  left  the  colony  in  the  command 
of  Peter  Schuyler,  "who  administered  the  province  with  great  good  sense 
and  judgment.  He  was  a  faithful  friend  to  the  Indians,  and  many  times 
saved  the  infant  settlement  from  destruction."  On  the  arrival  of  the  newly 
appointed  Governor,  William  Burnet,  on  September  17,  1720,  Schuyler  re- 
signed the  direction  of  affairs.  Jacobus  Van  Cortlandt  had  been  appointed 
Mayor  for  the  second  time  in  1719,  but  held  the  office  for  but  one  year, 
giving  way  to  Robert  Walton.  Burnet  was  less  avaricious  than  his  prede- 
cessors. He  married  the  daughter  of  a  leading  merchant  of  the  colony,  and 
thus  coupled  his  interests  with  those  of  his  subjects,  but  during  his  time 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    SEW     YORK.  31 

great  complaints  were  made  of  an  extortion,  illegality  and  exorbitant  fees  in 
the  Court  of  Chancery.  On  a  petition  to  the  Minister,  after  the  death  of 
Greorge  I,  for  his  removal,  Burnet  was  transferred  to  Massachusetts,  and 
John  Montgomerie  succeeded  him  in  1728. 

In  1720  a  tax  of  2  per  cent,  was  laid  on  European  goods  imported. 
This  is  the  first  mention  in  the  old  manuscripts  of  a  tariff  duty.  Robert 
Walton,  a  Holland  merchant,  was  Mayor  this  year.  In  1722  it  was  ordered 
that  all  slaves  be  buried  by  daylight,  and  that  "a  ferry  to  Long  Island  from 
Burger's  path  (Old  Slip)  be  rented  for  £71."  Burger's  path,  which  in- 
cluded land  in  the  vicinity  of  Hanover  Square  and  William  street,  took  its 
name  from  its  owner,  Borger  Joris,  one  of  the  early  Dutch  settlers.  William 
street  was  known  as  Borger's,  and  was  afterward  corrupted  to  Burger's. 

"1723 — Captain  Peter  Solgard,  of  H.  M.  ship  Greyhound,  engaged  two 
pirate  sloops  off  this  coast,  commanded  by  Low,  that  had  done  much 
mischief,  and  killed  many  people,  took  one,  and  the  other  escaped  in  the 
night.  Twenty-six  of  the  pirates  were  executed  at  Rhode  Island.  Solgard 
was  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city  in  a  gold  box."  On  July  29 
"great  storm  and  hurricane,  which  ruined  the  docks  and  did  much  mis- 
chief, and  caused  the  city  to  incur  considerable  expense  for  repairs." 

A  religious  dispute  took  place  between  Governor  Burnet  and  Stephen 
De  Lancey  in  1724  regarding  the  dismissal  of  the  pastor  of  the  French 
Huguenot  Church,  in  Pine  street.  Here  is  the  record:  "Rev.  Louis  Rou, 
dismissed  on  the  charge  that  he  had  flagged  in  his  duty  and  had  introduced 
innovations  into  the  Church  discipline."  The  minister  appealed  to  the 
Governor  and  Council  from  the  decision  of  the  congregation,  and  was  sus- 
tained. Great  excitement  ensued,  and  when  De  Lancey  was  elected  a  Mem- 
ber of  Assembly  the  Governor  refused  to  administer  the  oath  to  him,  alleg- 
ing he  was  not  a  subject  of  the  crown.  As  De  Lancey  had  left  France  for 
England  before  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  and  had  received  a 
patent  conferring  the  rights  of  a  citizen  upon  him  from  James  II,  on  appeal 
to  the  Assembly  his  claims  were  sustained.  And  thus  ended  another  of  the 
troublous  Church  and  State  questions. 

In  1725  Johannes  Janson  became  Mayor  and  saw  the  first  newspaper 
printed  in  New  York,  on  a  small  foolscap  sheet,  with  the  follov/ing  head- 
ing: "New  York  Gazette.  From  Monday  Oct.  16th  to  Oct.  2?.rd,  1725." 
The  era  of  journalism  began  with  it,  and  William  Bradford  was  the 
printer.  New  York  was  the  third  of  the  colonies  in  which  printing  was 
introduced.  Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania  preceded  it.  The  first  print- 
ing done  was  the  laws  of  the  Colony  in  1694,  and  the  next  "A  Letter  of 
Advice  to  a  Young  Gentleman,"  in  1696,  both  by  Bradford. 

Robert  Lurting,  a  shipping  merchant,  succeeded  Janson  in  1726,  and 
a  corn  market  was  established  at  the  foot  of  Wall  street.  The  income  of 
the  city  the  next  year  was   £285  17s.  5d. 

With  April  15,  1728,  came  John  Montgomerie,  Governor  and  Chan- 
cellor of  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  A  groom  of  the  bedchamber  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  afterward  George  II,  was  he,  of  a  yielding  and  indolent 
temperament.  On  his  arrival  the  Mayor  and  corporation  presented  him  the 
freedom  of  the  city  in  a  gold  box,  and  the  Assembly  granted  him  five  years' 
revenue  for  his  support.     In  the  first  year  of  his  administration  "a  lot  of 


32  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

ground  was  granted  to  the  Jews  for  a  burying  ground  near  the  cripple 
bush  or  swamp,  112  feet  long  and  50  broad,  situated  opposite  Chatham 
Square,  corner  of  Fayette  street  (now  Oliver  street),  then  a  long  distance 
out  of  the  city."     Part  of  this  cemetery  still  exists. 

Jacobus  Roosevelt  purchased  in  1728  ten  lots  of  ground,  25  by  120 
feet,  for  ilO  a  lot,  in  the  swamp  near  the  cripple  bush  (now  the  site  of 
Roosevelt  street).  The  city  was  gradually  extending  its  limits,  and  the 
powder  house  which  had  been  built  a  few  years  before  on  the  Commons  was 
considered  in  an  unsafe  place.  A  new  magazine  was  determined  on,  and 
selected  in  the  following:  "Resolved,  That  a  little  island  in  the  fresh  water 
is  appropriated  as  the  most  convenient  place  for  building  thereon  a  maga- 
zine or  powder  house."  This  "little  island"  was  in  Elm  street. 

The  Third,  or  Middle,  Dutch  Church,  which  fronted  on  Cedar,  Liberty 
and  Nassau  streets,  was  built  in  1729.  For  the  first  thirty  years  the  ser- 
vices were  performed  exclusively  in  the  Dutch  language,  after  which  Eng- 
lish was  used  half  the  time.  It  became  the  prison  house  of  three  thousand 
Americans  in  1776,  and  was  a  riding  school  for  the  British  cavalry. 

The  rise  and  progress  of  the  first  public  library  of  New  York  dates 
from  1729,  when  the  corporation  received  notice  from  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  in  London  that  1,642  volumes 
had  been  bequeathed  to  it  by  the  Rev.  John  Millington,  rector  of  Newing- 
ton,  England,  and  would  be  presented  to  the  city.  "They  arrived  safely  in 
the  ship  Alexander,  Captain  Downing,  and  the  books  were  arranged  and  a 
room  appropriated  for  their  safekeeping  in  the  City  Hall,  and  the  thanks  of 
the  Corporation  were  politely  returned  for  this  munificent  gift."  To  these 
was  added  a  collection  presented  in  1700  by  the  Rev.  John  Sharp,  who 
acted  as  librarian.  He  died  soon  after  his  appointment,  and  the  books  were 
neglected  and  forgotten  until  1754,  when  a  number  of  citizens  founded  the 
Society  Library.  In  1772  George  III  granted  a  charter  to  it,  under  the  name 
of  the  New  York  Society  Library,  and  it  flourished  until  the  Revolution, 
when  the  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  and  the  library  into  the 
hands  of  the  British  soldiers.  Through  them  the  valuable  collection  was 
scattered,  mutilated  and  destroyed.  In  1783,  when  peace  was  finally  de- 
clared, the  society  reunited  and  once  more  began  to  collect  books.  A 
library  building  was  erected  in  Nassau  street  in  1793,  but  the  collection 
outgrew  its  quarters  and  was  removed  temporarily  to  the  Mechanics'  So- 
ciety Building,  in  Chambers  street,  where  it  continued  until  1840,  when 
possession  was  taken  of  the  new  library  on  the  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Leonard  street.  Business  rush  forced  it  up  to  the  Bible  House  and  Astor 
Place  until  1857,  when  it  again  moved,  this  time  to  University  Place,  be- 
tween Twelfth  and  Thirteenth  streets.  A  varied  career,  the  reader  may  well 
say,  but  the  stuff  our  forefathers  were  made  of  should  be  a  matter  of  pride 
with  us. 

Threepence  a  foot  was  given  for  land  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway, 
near  the  Battery,  in  this  year.  To-day  $150  a  square  foot  would  be 
laughed  at,  most  likely,  for  the  same  ground  as  under  price.  Rector  street 
and  other  streets  south  and  west  of  it  were  laid  out  then. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


(1730-1734.) 


First  Court  of  Common  Pleas — First  Fire  Department — The  "New  York 

Weekly  Journal" — rFirst  Criminal  Libel  Case — 

Stage  Between  Boston  and  New  York. 

The  more  one  delves  into  the  manuscripts  that  tell  of  the  beginning  of 
New  York,  with  four  wretched  huts,  up  to  the  time  she  held  her  head  erect 
and  proclaimed  herself  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  Western  Hemi- 
sphere, the  more  one  wonders  how  the  transformation  was  wrought.  Brook 
and  rivulet  babbled  where  are  now  large  office  buildings.  Grapes  and  straw- 
berries grew  where  at  the  present  time  men  rush  to  achieve  success  in  busi- 
ness. Forests  with  abundance  of  game  and  ponds  swarming  with  fish  ex- 
isted where  the  Harlemites  live.  The  lake  over  whose  waters  the  Indian 
guided  his  canoe  is  to-day  the  site  of  a  municipal  building.  One  might 
enumerate  similar  changes  that  would  include  all  the  downtown  district, 
but  the  student  with  an  observing  eye  and  persistence  in  research  has  a 
field  before  him,  the  tilling  of  which  will  reveal  phases  of  the  city's  growth 
that  are  overwhelming  in  interest.  The  duty  of  picking  here  and  there 
only  those  bits  of  information  tucked  away  in  voluminous  and  dusty  old 
manuscripts  for  the  amusement  and  instruction  of  the  student  devolves  on 
the  writer,  but  through  them  other  vistas  of  surpassing  interest  will  be 
revealed. 

To  resume  the  chronology  of  the  little  city.  The  principal  event  in 
Governor  Montgomerie's  administration,  in  1730,  was  the  grant  of  an 
amended  city  charter.  By  it  the  sole  power  of  establishing  ferries  about  the 
island  was  vested  in  the  corporation,  all  the  profits  accruing  from  them  to 
go  to  the  city.  The  market  houses,  docks,  slips  and  wharves  were  also 
granted  to  it.  A  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was  established.  Provision  was 
made  for  a  new  division  of  the  city  into  seven  wards,  the  limits  to  be  de- 
termined by  the  council,  each  ward  to  choose  its  ofllcers  annually  and 
whatever  number  of  constables  the  council  might  direct,  and  to  be  the  sole 
judge  of  their  election  and  qualification.  The  justices  of  the  peace  for  the 
city  and  county  were  to  be  the  Mayor,  Recorder  and  Aldermen.  They  were 
to  be  empowered  to  hear  and  determine  all  pleas  of  40  shillings  and  under, 
to  administer  oaths  to  freemen  and  officers  of  the  city,  and  to  make  as 
many  freemen  as  they  saw  fit.  The  people  were  not  allowed,  however,  to 
elect  their  principal  officers,  such  as  Mayor,  Recorder,  Sheriff,  Coroner  and 
Town  Clerk.      These  were  the  Governor's  so-called  perquisiteiS. 

The  lower  part  of  the  city  began  to  change  after  the  charter  went  into 
effect.     What  was  known  before  1730  as  the  Strand,  bounded  by  Whitehall, 

3.3 


34  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

Pearl,  Moore  and  State  streets,  and  used  as  a  market-place,  became  more 

valuable,   and   was   divided   into   seven    lots.      Here   is   the   old   manuscript 

record : 

May  6.     A  great  sale  of  7  lots  of  ground,  near  the  Custom-house,  and 

east    of    Whitehall    street,    for    the    following    sums,    and    to    the    persons 

named,  viz.: 

Lot  No.    1. — To  Stephen    De   Lancey il55 

Do.       2.—  •■  "  1^1 

Do.       3. — To  David   Clarkson 155 

Do.       4. — To  John    Moore 275 

Do.       5. — To  Stephen   De  Lancey 192 

Do.       6. — To  Robt.  Livingston,  Jr.    (son  of  Philip) 175 

Do.       7. — To  Anthony   Rutgers 239 

Lots  in  the  same  quarter  of  the  city  in  1686  sold  for  £35,  and  in  the 
beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  for  an  average  of  $40  a  square  foot. 

On  September  11,  173  2,  "a  small  gore  of  land  was  given  to  Rip  Van 
Dam,  upon  his  petitioning  for  the  same,  at  the  present  intersection  of  Lib- 
erty street  and  Maiden  lane,  of  103  feet  in  length,  for  the  nominal  sum  of 
ten  shillings,  as  being  of  little  or  no  value  to  any  one  else  but  him."  ^ 

The  first  steps  in  organizing  a  permanent  Fire  Department  were  taken 
in  1731.  A  few  leather  buckets,  two  fire  hooks  and  poles  and  three  or  four 
ladders  constituted  the  equipment  of  the  old  city  for  fighting  fires.  The 
corporation  hearing  that  fire  engines  had  been  successfully  introduced  in 
the  mother  country,  received  permission  to  import  two,  and  the  next  year 
they  were  brought  to  New  York  and  placed  in  the  City  Hall.  A  few  years 
afterward  an  engine  house  was  built  in  Broad  street,  and  in  1737  the  first 
Fire  Department,  with  twenty-five  members,  was  organized.  Its  members 
were  excused  from  performing  military  duty  and  from  serving  as  con- 
stables or  jurors. 

As  facts  are  being  chronicled,  it  would  be  well  to  state  that  in  1731 
"William  Sharpas,  town  clerk  for  the  last  forty  years,  was  allowed  i28 
(extra)  for  his  long  and  faithful  services."  This  is  the  William  Sharpas 
who,  in  1699,  received  "one  hundred  feet  of  land  for  his  good  and  faithful 
service,  and  his  encouragement  to  continue  so  for  the  future."  The  fol- 
lowing may  have  something  to  do  with  William's  extra  £28:  "A  tax  was 
laid  on  wigs  this  year." 

Governor  Montgomerie  died  on  July  1,  1731,  and  Rip  Van  Dam,  the 
eldest  member  of  the  council,  succeeded  him.  He  administered  the  govern- 
ment for  thirteen  months,  until  the  arrival  of  Colonel  William  Cosby,  who 
"was  testy,  despotic,  and  rapacious."  Cosby  had  rendered  a  service  to  the 
colonists  while  in  England  by  opposing  an  obnoxious  sugar  bill,  and  they 
were  grateful  to  him.  When  he  came  they  presented  him  with  £750  as  a 
token  of  their  gratitude.  He  was  incensed  at  the  smallness  of  the  sum,  and 
asked  one  of  the  council  why  the  colonists  did  not  add  the  shillings  and 
pence.  Cosby's  first  act  was  to  produce  a  royal  order  for  an  equal  division 
of  the  salary  and  perquisites  of  the  office  since  the  time  of  his  appointment 
between  Van  Dam  and  himself,  which  Van  Dam  was  willing  to  do,  pro- 
vided Cosby  would  divide  £6,000  in  perquisites  which  he  had  received  be- 


CRADLE    DAYS    Of    XEIV     YORK.  35 

fore  coming.  This  condition  was  refused  by  Cosby,  and  he  instituted  pro- 
ceedings against  Van  Dam  to  recover  what  he  considered  his  share  of  the 
salary.  As  Cosby  was  chancellor  ex  officio,  and  two  of  his  intimate 
friends,  James  De  Lancey  and  Adolphus  Philipse,  were  the  majority  of  the 
court  before  whom  the  case  was  tried,  Van  Dam  lost.  Chief  Justice  Morris, 
who  supported  the  plea  of  Van  Dam's  counsel  as  to  the  non-jurisdiction  of 
the  court,  was  removed  from  office,  and  Van  Dam  was  suspended  from  the 
council. 

The  people  of  the  old  city  became  incensed  at  the  Governor's  action 
and  also  his  evident  partiality  for  English  favorites.  They  had  grown  vv-eary 
of  the  rapacity  of  the  Crown's  representative  and  the  non-recognition  of 
their  appeals  by  the  home  government,  and,  looking  around  for  some  one  to 
espouse  their  cause  against  the  attacks  of  the  "New  York  Gazette,"  which 
derived  its  support  from  the  government  and  sustained  Cosby,  they  found 
John  Peter  Zenger,  a  printer,  then  collector  of  the  city  taxes,  ready  to  cross 
swords  in  their  defence.  Zenger  was  the  son  of  one  of  the  Palatinates,  before 
mentioned,  and  had  been  apprenticed  to  the  owner  of  the  "New  York  Ga- 
zette" when  young.  When  the  people  demanded  a  champion  of  their  rights 
he  set  up  the  "New  York  Weekly  Journal,"  the  second  newspaper  pub- 
lished in  New  York,  and  in  its  columns  violently  opposed  the  Governor  and 
his  adherents.  He  spared  none.  He  attacked  the  permanent  revenue,  the 
Court  of  Chancery  and  everything  that  was  oppressing  the  people.  His 
articles  were  caustic  and  satirical,  and  enraged  those  against  whom  they 
were  directed.  The  Governor  and  council  regarded  them  incendiary,  and 
declared  that  the  writer  should  be  punished.  The  people,  who  up  to  this 
time  had  been  delighted  with  the  course  of  affairs,  became  indignant  £tt 
this  action  of  the  Governor  and  council,  and  attempted  to  resist  it.  On  No- 
vember 2,  1734,  four  numbers  of  the  paper  were  ordered  burned  at  the 
pillory  by  the  hangman  in  the  presence  of  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen.  When 
the  order  was  presented  at  the  quarter  sessions  the  Aldermen  protested 
against  it,  the  court  .refused  to  enter  it,  and  the  common  hangman  was  for- 
bidden to  carry  it  out.  A  negro  slave  of  the  Sheriff,  however,  burned  the 
papers  in  the  presence  of  the  Governor's  supporters.  Later,  on  November  12, 
Zenger,  the  editor  of  the  paper,  was  arrested  on  the  charge  of  criminal  libel 
— the  first  case  in  the  annals  of  New  York — and  thrown  into  prison  in  the 
City  Hall,  in  Wall  street,  where,  not  being  able  to  comply  with  the  order 
of  the  court  to  give  bail  of  £400,  with  two  additional  sureties  of  £200 
each,  he  continued  to  edit  his  paper,  "giving  directions  to  his  assistants 
through  a  chink  in  the  door."  In  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  the 
Grand  Jury  refusing  to  indict  him,  "information  was  filed  against  him  for 
false,  scandalous,  seditious  and  malicious  libel,"  and  on  August  4,  1785,  his 
trial  took  place.  The  only  three  lawyers  of  eminence  in  the  city  were  re- 
tained by  the  government,  so  that  Zenger  was  left  without  able  counsel, 
which  was  what  the  court  desired.  Zenger's  friends,  however,  secretly  en- 
gaged Andrew  Hamilton,  of  Philadelphia,  then  eighty  years  old,  an  able  and 
eloquent  advocate,  who  was  imbued  with  liberal  principles  and  opposed  to 
the  despotic  tyranny  which  England,  through  her  representatives,  was  be- 
ginning to  exert  over  her  colonies.  At  the  trial  he  pleaded  eloquently  the 
cause  of  Zenger,  and  so  cogent  was  his  reasoning  that  the  jury  returned  a 


30 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 


verdict  of  "Not  guilty."  Hamilton  was  lionized  by  the  people,  a  dinner  was 
given  to  him,  and  the  freedom  of  the  city  was  presented  to  him  in  a  gold 
box,  the  money  for  which  was  subscribed  privately.  The  freedom  of  the 
press  was  established  by  this  trial,  and  the  precedent  for  resistance  arose 
which  culminated  in  the  Revolution. 

"The  first  stage  between  Boston  and  New  York  began  to  run  in  1732." 
It  made  one  trip  a  month,  and  was  fourteen  days  doing  it.  In  this  year  the 
vacant  space  in  front  of  Fort  Amsterdam  "was  leased  to  Frederick  Philipse, 
John  Chambers  and  John  Roosevelt  for  ten  years,  at  a  yearly  rent  of  a  pep- 
percorn, to  be  used  as  a  bowling  green."  Walks  were  to  be  made,  and  it 
was  to  be  used  for  the  recreation  and  delight  of  the  inhabitants.  The  streets 
on  each  side  were  to  be  fifty  feet  wide.  Dutch  lads  and  lasses  held  their  May 
Day  festivities  there,  and  later  on  Liberty's  triumphant  shout  mingled 
with  the  crackling  flames  made  by  burning  the  stamped  paper  furnished 
by  the  British  Government  and  by  royal  effigies.  To-day  it  is  the  first 
ground  in  the  city  the  liberty  loving  foreigner  sets  foot  on,  marred  a  little, 
however,  by  the  railroad  on  stilts. 

On  May  5,  1733,  Courtlandt  street  was  opened  by  the  proprietors  and 
registered  as  a  public  street,  and  Alexander  Malcolm,  schoolmaster,  was 
paid  a  salary  of  £  40  a  year  for  teaching  Latin,  Greek  and  mathematics. 
With  this  last  record  we  are  told  by  the  chronicler  that,  notwithstanding 
the  success  the  colonists  met  in  the  suit  for  libel,  and  the  position  they  had 
taken  against  the  Governor,  when  the  Duke  of  Grafton's  youngest  son, 
Lord  Fitzroy,  arrived  they  waited  on  him  and  presented  him  with  a  gold 
box  and  the  freedom  of  the  city.  What  obsequiousness  and  fulsome  adula- 
tion these  old  New  Yorkers  possessed!  The  chronicler  says,  also,  "that  while 
£  14  8s.  was  paid  for  this  box,  but  £  10  could  be  ill  afforded  for  the  quar- 
ter's salary  of  the  public  schoolmaster." 

The  present  City  Hall  Park  in  this  year  was  a  level  plain,  and  known 
as  the  "Flat."  It  was  the  place  of  public  execution,  the  gallows  being  near 
the  old  Hall  of  Records,  lately  demolished.  North  of  it  lay  the  Fresh 
Water  Pond,  which  tradition  declared  to  be  bottomless,  and  its  inhabitants, 
roach  and  sunfish,  to  be  holy.  The  city  authorities  in  1733,  "to  preserve 
these  fish,"  forbade  any  person  to  fish  in  it  with  a  net  or  in  any  other 
way."     The  Tombs  is  now  on  its  site. 

"All  Beekman's  swamp  sold  to  Jacobus  Roosevelt  for  £  100."  This 
was  in  1734.  The  land  was  covered  with  tangled  briars,  and  "lay  on  the 
east  side  of  the  city,"  in  the  vicinity  of  Ferry  street.  Roosevelt  laid  out 
the  ground  in  fifty  lots,  and  established  eight  tanneries  on  it.  It  is  the 
leather  district  of  the  present  New  York. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


(1734-1745.) 


Quakers  Granted  Eight  to  Vote— First  Poorhouse— Law  Regarding  Riding 

on  Shafts  of  Cart — Gaming  Houses  Denounced  by  Law 

— Pounding  of  New  York  Society  Library. 

In  their  yearly  celebrations  the  people  of  the  present  New  York  vary 
but  slightly  from  the  customs  of  their  ancestors.  The  five  national  festivals 
of  the  Dutch — Christmas,  New  Year,  the  Passover,  Whitsuntide  and  St. 
Nicholas  Day — are  still  celebrated.  The  "Merry  Christmas"  greetings  are 
heard;  the  interchange  of  visits  on  the  first  day  of  the  year  takes  place 
among  some  of  the  people;  egg  rolling  still  goes  on,  and  Christmas  Eve,  in 
the  estimation  of  the  little  folks,  and  of  some  of  the  big  ones,  too,  is  the 
best  festival  of  all.  St.  Nicholas,  by  the  way,  is  the  patron  saint  of  New 
York.  He  presided  as  the  figurehead  of  the  first  emigrant  ship  that  touched 
her  shores,  gave  his  name  to  the  first  church  erected  within  her  walls,  and 
is  regarded  as  having  especial  charge  of  the  destinies  of  the  city. 

In  social  affairs  some  of  the  spirit  of  the  ancient  Knickerbocker  re- 
mains, though  the  "quilting  bees,"  "apple  bees"  and  "husking  bees"  have 
passed  away,  giving  place  to  musicals,  bridge  teas  and  kaffee-klatches.  Late 
hours  and  dissipation  were  wholly  unknown  in  the  olden  times,  and  those 
who  joined  in  the  social  affairs  of  the  colony  partook  of  chocolate  and 
waffles,  instead  of  the  dyspepsia  breeding  concoctions  of  the  French,  Italian 
or  German  cook.  After  a  dance,  which  generally  terminated  the  evening's 
amusement,  the  women,  in  their  cloth  jackets  and  short  quilted  skirts,  and 
the  men,  in  their  long-waisted  coats,  knee  breeches  and  low  crowned  hats 
of  beaver,  wended  their  way  home  at  10  o'clock,  as  befitted  the  staid  de- 
corum of  the  city.     To  return  to  the  chronology: 

In  1733,  by  an  act  of  the  legislature,  the  Quakers  had  restored  to  them 
the  right  to  vote.  This  right  had  been  taken  from  them  early  in  1700, 
when  intolerance  was  rampant  in  the  colony.  In  1734,  the  number  of 
paupers  having  increased  to  an  extent  which  warranted  immediate  action 
by  the  authorities  for  their  support,  the  first  poorhouse  was  erected  on  the 
Commons.  It  was  a  two-story  building,  a  part  of  which  was  given  over 
later  to  the  confinement  of  unruly  slaves.  The  church  wardens  were  ap- 
pointed overseers,  with  authority  to  punish  the  recalcitrant  non-working 
pauper.  Children  were  taught  to  read  and  write  here,  and  instruction  was 
given  to  them  in  some  sort  of  employment  which  would  be  a  future  benefit 
to  them.  The  inmates  assisted  in  cultivating  a  large  garden  surrounding 
the  building,  the  products  of  which  were  used  by  the  institution. 

Here  are  two  simple  items  which  show  the  care  exercised  by  our  fore- 
fathers in  the  conduct  of  affairs  of  the  city:     "The  Treasurer  is  ordered  to 

Z7 


38  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

provide  a  suitable  cloth  to  cover  the  table  in  the  court-room,  of  blew^  or 
green  cloth,  not  over  12s.  per  yard,"  and  "John  Peter  Zenger  is  to  print  the 
charter  for  £  7."  With  an  eye  to  business,  the  authorities  sold  copies  of  tJiis 
charter  at  three  shillings  each. 

Robert  Lurting,  who  had  served  as  Mayor  for  nine  years,  died  in  1735, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Paul  Richard,  a  merchant  of  French  extraction,  who 
retained  office  for  three  years.  During  the  latter's  term  Governor  Cosby 
made  further  attempts  against  the  liberties  of  the  people.  "He  refused  to 
dissolve  the  Assembly,  and,  contrary  to  their  own  wishes  and  the  petition  of 
the  citizens,  he  ordered  a  resurvey  of  the  old  grants  and  patents,  in  the 
hope  of  deriving  a  revenue  from  the  fees.  He  also  destroyed  valuable  docu- 
ments which  had  been  intrusted  to  him  by  the  corporation  of  Albany,  and 
which  v/ere  obstacles  in  the  way  of  his  acquisitions."  His  schemes  were 
checked,  however,  by  his  death  on  March  7,  1736,  and  George  Clark,  the 
second  eldest  member  in  the  Council,  succeeded  him.  Van  Dam,  who  was 
legally  Cosby's  successor  and  the  oldest  member  of  the  Council,  had 
been  removed  by  the  Governor  at  a  meeting  of  the  Council  held  in  his 
chamber  prior  to  his  death.  Events  leading  up  to  the  trial  of  John  Peter 
Zenger  for  libel  will  explain  this  action  of  the  Governor.  Clarke's  ap- 
pointment to  the  Governorship  caused  new  dissensions  among  the  people, 
and  they  rallied  around  Van  Dam.  It  was  confirmed,  however,  in  dispatches 
from  England  on  October  14,  and  the  signs  of  hostility  to  him  ceased. 

The  aJm  of  this  Lieutenant  Governor^ — for  such  was  his  commission — 
was  the  securing  of  a  princely  fortune  hurriedly,  knowing  that  his  appoint- 
ment would  last  only  until  the  arrival  of  a  new  Governor.  With  this  end 
in  view,  he  ingratiated  himself  with  both  parties,  but  was  unsuccessful  in 
obtaining  from  the  representatives  of  the  people  a  greater  revenue  than  any 
of  the  other  representatives  of  the  crown.  During  his  incumbency  an  act 
disfranchising  the  Jews  was  passed  by  the  Assembly,  and  met  with  his 
approval. 

"Ordered,  that  Servos  Vlierboom,  Jacob  Pitt  and  Abram  Blanck,  three 
ancient  and  infirm  cartmen,  be  licensed  to  sit  upon  the  shafts  of  their  carts, 
and  drive  the  same  for  their  ease  and  relief,  and  better  support  of  them- 
selves and  family,  provided  they  drive  not  their  carts  faster  than  a  walk 
or  foot  pace,  and  not  a  trot,  but  slowly  and  patiently."  This  was  in  1736. 
A  law  had  been  passed  on  March  7,  1683,  to  this  effect:  "No  cartman  al- 
lowed to  ride  on  his  cart,  and  enjoined  to  behave  civilly  to  all."  What  relief 
from  excessive  burdens  could  be  given  to  the  patient  beasts  by  our  Alder- 
men if  they  would  take  pattern  after  our  forefathers!  Gaming  houses  were 
denounced  by  law  this  year,  showing  that  the  enterprising  Yankee  had  be- 
gun to  operate  among  the  Diedrich  Knickerbockers. 

~  In  1737  the  "Town  of  Brooklyn  disputed  the  Corporation  right  to  the 
ferry,  and  the  city  retained  the  Recorder,  Daniel  Horsmander,  and  Joseph 
Murray,  Esq.,  as  counsel  for  a  doubloon  each."  Brooklyn  Ferry,  as  it  was 
called,  in  1693  ran  between  Broad  street,  New  Yorfc;,  and  the  foot  of  Jorale- 
mon  street,  Brooklyn,  and  was  leased  for  £147  a  year.  As  the  city  in- 
creased and  extended  eastward  the  "ferry  stairs"  were  changed  to  Old 
Slip,  Fly  (or,  correctly,  Vli,  the  Dutch  word  for  valley),  Market  and  Fulton 
street.    In  1698  it  was  leased  for  seven  years  at   £  165  a  year,  and  in  1707 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  39 

for  £  180  a  year.  In  1722  there  was  a  ferry  from  Burger's  Path,  which 
was  mentioned  before,  which  was  let  for  £  70.  The  suit  mentioned  was  not 
definitely  settled  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  it  was  begun.  The 
old  ferry  house  in  Broad  street  was  torn  down  in   1825. 

In  1706  all  the  real  and  personal  estate  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn  was 
valued  at  £3,122  12s.,  the  tax  on  which  was  £41  3s.  7d.,  and  the  whole 
county  tax  £201  16s.  6d.  Five  years  previous  a  piece  of  land  100  feet 
square  within  the  village  was  sold  for   £75. 

Old  New  York's  "good  debts  due  to  her  in  1737  were  £387  15s.  7d., 
and  the  bad  debts  due  to  her  were  £1,240  3s.  6d.,"  showing  her  lack  of 
discretion  and  opening  the  way  for  an  argument  on  the  side  as  to  whether  a 
bad  debt  is  a  debt  at  all.  Water  street,  which  had  received  its  name  the 
previous  year,  was  extended  four  hundred  feet  from  Fulton  street  to  Peck 
Slip  this  year,  and  Trinity  Church  was  enlarged  on  the  north  and  south 
sides. 

June  28,  1738,  "Quarantine  laws  were  passed  to  prevent  the  importa- 
tion of  the  smallpox  and  'spotted  fever'  from  South  Carolina,  Antigua  and 
Barbadoes."  The  smallpox  was  raging  in  South  Carolina  at  this  time,  and 
the  colonists,  profiting  by  the  experience  of  seven  years  before,  insisted  that 
all  suspected  vessels  should  anchor  at  Bedlow's  Island  and  be  visited  and 
examined  by  physicians  before  permission  was  given  to  them  to  discharge 
their  cargoes. 

Our  old  friend  William  Sharpas,  after  serving  the  corporation  as  Town 
Clerk  for  forty-seven  years,  died  in  1739.  The  number  of  houses  in  the  city 
was  1,416,  sixteen  only  having  been  built  in  seven  years. 

John  Cruger,  a  merchant  of  the  city,  who  in  his  young  days  was  en- 
gaged in  slave  trading,  succeeded  Paul  Richard  as  Mayor  in  1739.  During 
the  first  part  of  his  term  a  large  market  house  was  erected  in  Broadway,  op- 
posite Liberty  street,  and  he  officiated  as  clerk.  These  markets  were  valu- 
able as  money  makers  to  the  city,  and  strict  supervision  was  maintained 
over  them  by  the  municipal  authorities. 

Rumors  of  England  having  declared  war  against  Spain  reached  the 
colonists  on  October  23  of  this  yean,  through  the  captain  of  an  English 
ship  obtaining  permission  from  the  Governor  and  Council  to  impress  thirty 
seamen.  The  old  documents  state  that  Mayor  Cruger  strenuously  opposed 
such  action  on  the  part  of  the  authorities,  and  "saved  the  country  from 
disgrace  in  the  future."  The  next  year  the  New  York  Society  Library  was 
founded,  and  on  March  18,  1741,  "a  dreadful  fire  broke  out  in  the  Fort, 
which  destroyed  the  Secretary's  office  and  the  old  Dutch  Church.  A  reward 
of  £  100  was  offered  to  discover  the  perpetrator  of  the  same."  This  was 
the  inception  of  the  celebrated  Negro  Plot,  a  history  of  which  has  been 
given.  There  were  about  twelve  thousand  inhabitants  at  this  time,  one- 
sixth  of  whom  were  negro  slaves.  Historians  place  little  credence  in  the 
so-called  facts  gathered  regarding  the  Negro  Plot.  The  witnesses  exam- 
ined by  the  court  were  persons  of  the  vilest  character,  the  evidence  was 
contradictory  and  was  extorted  under  the  fear  of  death,  and,  altogether,  the 
plot's  existence  may  be  attributed  to  the  blindness  of  religious  intolerance 
and  the  disordered  imaginations  of  the  citizens  of  old  New  York,  caused  by 
fear  of  the  Jesuits. 


40  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEIV     YORK. 

The  year  1742  was  marked  by  the  breaking  out  of  a  malignant  epidemic 
resembling  yellow  fever.  Two  hundred  persons  succumbed  to  it.  "A 
memoir  of  it  was  written  by  Lieutenant  Governor  Golden,  for  which  the 
thanks  of  the  Gommon  Gouncil  of  the  city  were  voted  to  him."  The  winter 
of  this  year  was  known  as  the  "Hard  Winter."  Intense  cold  continued 
from  November,  1740,  to  March,  1741.  The  Hudson  was  frozen  over,  and 
snow  was  six  feet  deep  on  the  level. 

Here  is  a  trinity  taken  from  the  records  of  October  7,  1741:  "Mothers 
or  fathers  of  bastard  children  to  pay  a  fine  of  £  10  or  suffer  corporal  pun- 
ishment." "Cards,  truck  or  billiard  playing  prohibited  under  a  penalty  of 
$25,"  and  "a  bill  passed  to  prevent  clandestine  marriages." 

On  September  22,  1743,  George  Clinton,  Captain  General  and  Governor 
•of  the  province,  arrived,  succeeding  Lieutenant  Governor  Clark.  The 
usual  gold  box,  congratulatory  address  and  freedom  of  the  city  were  re- 
ceived by  him  in  "an  easy  and  indolent  way."  Affairs  of  the  colony  went 
on  smoothly  under  him  for  a  time,  the  Assembly  having  voted  him  a  liberal 
revenue  for  the  first  year,  and  at  the  same  time  limiting  its  existence  and 
the  existence  of  all  future  Assemblies  to  seven  years.  In  his  anxiety  to 
improve  his  fortunes  he  formed  an  alliance  with  Cadwallader  Colden 
against  his  first  friend.  Chief  Justice  De  Lancey,  which  occasioned  opposi- 
tion and  stirred  up  such  a  fierce  contest  that,  fearing  the  downfall  of  his 
administration,  he  counseled  Colden  to  withdraw  from  the  province.  Wheat 
was  quoted  at  3s.  6d.  a  bushel  in  1743,  and  coal  was  imported  from  Eng- 
land "as  cheaper  fuel  than  wood,  which  was  30s.  N.  York  currency  per 
fathom." 

"1744 — Land  granted  to  Captain  Peter  AVarren,  for  public  services." 
On  October  15  of  this  year  Stephen  Bayard  was  appointed  Mayor,  and  in 
174.5  the  first  circulating  library  was  established,  with  James  Parker, 
printer,  as  librarian  to  the  corporation.  The  books  comprising  the  library 
had  been  bequeathed  in  1729  by  the  Rev.  John  Millington,  of  Neurington, 
England,  and  the  librarian  had  permission  "to  let  them  out  to  be  read  at 
sixpence  apiece,  those  borrowing  to  give  security  for  double  the  value  of 
each  set  taken  out,  the  corporation  to  have  the  preference."  Parker  was  to 
keep  the  books  in  repair  at  his  own  cost,  and  to  send  for  new  books  to 
supply  the  place  of  old  ones  lost.  The  scheme  is  a  paternal  one  to-day,  but 
the  basis  of  it  a  few  years  ago  w^as  the  system  of  1745. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


(1745-1753.) 


City  Officials  Watched  the  Drawing-  of  Government  Lotteries — First  Rewar  J 

for  Firemen — Erection  of  First  Theatre — Origin  of  Public  Exchanges — 

Governor  Osborne  Succeeds  Clinton  and  Kills  Himself. 

The  variability  of  the  v.-eatlier  in  and  around  New  York  occasions 
much  comment  from  the  strangers  within  her  gates,  and  frequently 
causes  wonder  among  many  of  her  citizens.  Were  it  not  for  the  intense 
curiosity  of  the  New  Yorker,  the  weather's  fretful  moods  would  pass 
unnoticed.  But  when  any  unusual  condition  prevails  he  must  have  the 
opinion  of  the  weather  "sharps,"  the  meteorologists  and  the  "oldest  inhab- 
itant," and  the  relation,  if  any,  of  seismic  conditions  in  Timbuctoo  with 
Old  Sol's  pranks.  He  is  catered  to  by  the  newspapers  every  day,  and  yet  is 
apparently  not  satisfied.  For  his  further  interest  here  is  a  history  of 
"weather  conditions  in  New  York  over  one  hundred  years  ago  from  an  old 
manuscript,  by  which  he  may  draw  as  many  comparisons  as  his  years 
permit: 

"The  average  temperature  of  our  atmosphere  throughout  the  year  is 
55  degrees  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer;  and  that  is  also  the  temperature 
of  the  deepest  wells.  The  greatest  degree  of  cold  ever  experienced  is  six 
or  ten  degrees  below  zero;  but  that  is  very  rare,  only  one  or  two  instances 
having  occurred  within  a  century,  when  the  bay  and  harbor  were  partially 
closed  with  ice  for  a  few  days.  In  winter  the  thermometer  rarely  sinks 
lower  than  ten  or  twenty  degrees  below  the  freezing  point,  and  in  a  few 
hours  the  cold  always  moderates.  The  vicinity  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and 
the  Gulf  Stream  produces  a  perceptible  influence  on  our  atmosphere,  and 
conduces  to  ameliorate  the  rigor  of  the  winter.  The  snow  seldom  continues 
longer  than  two  or  three  weeks  in  January  or  February,  and  early  in  March 
the  winter  breaks  up.  The  highest  temperature  in  summer  is  seldom  more 
than  80  or  90  degrees,  and  is  never  of  long  continuance.  The  sultriness  is 
frequently  relieved  by  refreshing  showers  and  winds  from  the  north  and 
west,  accompanied  by  vivid  lightning  and  loud  peals  of  thunder.  From  the 
middle  of  September  to  about  the  last  of  October  the  atmosphere  will  gen- 
erally vie  with  any  in  the  world  for  serenity  and  beauty;  indeed,  that 
period  is  by  far  the  pleasantest  of  any  season  of  the  year  in  this  climate. 

"Winter  usually  sets  in  about  Christmas  and  continues  for  about  two 
months.  The  first  frosts  appear  about  the  middle  of  October,  and  the  last 
are  usually  seen  in  April,  and  very  rarely  in  May.  Gardening  in  the  vicinity 
begins  in  March,  and  the  forests  are  in  full  leaf  in  the  latter  part  of  April 
or  the  beginning  of  May.    Sudden  changes  of  temperature  occur  in  summer 

41 


42  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

and  winter  which  will  cause  colds  and  its  concomitants,  consumption  and 
other  diseases,  but  New  York,  generally  speaking,  is  as  healthy  a  spot  as 
any  city  in  the  world." 

In  1745  Lady  Murray  was  the  possessor  of  the  only  coach  in  New  York. 
It  had  been  imported  a  short  time  before,  and  "had  caused  much  comment 
among  the  citizens."  On  July  10  of  this  year  "news  arrived,  and  was  com- 
municated to  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  by  the  Governor,  that  H.  M.'s 
forces  had  captured  Cape  Breton,  and  ordered  in  consequence,  that  a  great 
bonfire  be  made  at  Spring  Garden,  and  twenty  gallons  be  sent  there  and  be 
given  to  the  people."  As  the  chronicler  failed  to  tell  the  important  thing  in 
this  item,  being  ashamed,  perhaps,  we  will  "pass  it  on." 

The  markets  in  174  5  were  flourishing.  From  their  old  position,  "under 
the  trees  in  front  of  the  fort,"  near  the  corner  of  Water  and  Whitehall 
streets,  they  were  moved,  as  the  city  enlarged  east  and  north,  first  to  the 
foot  of  Broad  street,  then  to  Coenties  Slip,  and  subsequently  to  Old  Slip.  It 
was  necessary  at  this  time  to  speak  the  Dutch  language  when  marketing  in 
them. 

Few  people  are  aware  of  the  part  the  lottery  system  played  In  the  old 
days  of  New  York  and  in  her  upbuilding.  Here  is  a  memorandum  of  August 
29,  1746:  "Resolved,  nem.  con.  dis..  That  this  board  attend  the  drawing 
of  the  government  lottery  In  their  turns,  viz.,  the  Mayor  and  Recorder  the 
first  day,  and  on  the  next  the  senior  Aldermen  and  Councilman,  and  so  on." 
At  this  date  the  drawings  took  place  at  irregular  intervals,  but  after  1821, 
when  the  new  consti*^ution  of  the  State  prohibited  the  granting  of  new  lot- 
teries after  the  previous  ones  were  fulfilled,  they  were  drawn  once  in  two 
or  three  weeks.  At  the  time  of  their  prohibition  there  were  enough  still  un- 
•  drawn  to  continue  the  business  for  many  years.  ^  Lottery  dealers  were 
licensed  by  the  Mayor  at  $250  a  year,  and  this  money  was  turned  over  in 
1829  to  the  Orphan  Asylum  and  the  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb. 
"Within  ten  years,"  said  an  authority  in  1828,  "the  number  of  ticket 
venders  has  multiplied  to  a  great  extent,  and  they  display  great  ingenuity 
in  their  puffs,  advertisements  and  other  expedients  to  extend  the  sale  of 
their  tickets,  and  in  coaxing  the  ignorant  and  careless  out  of  their  hard- 
earned  money,  and  to  dupe  the  credulous  purchaser,  by  which  immense  sums 
are  yearly  sported  with  by  the  American  public,  to  the  great  advantage  of  a 
few  cunning  individuals,  but  at  a  dreadful  sacrifice  of  the  morality  and 
resources  of  the  people." 

To  go  back  to  our  events  in  sequence.  On  January  14,  1747,  a  fire 
occurred  at  the  City  Hall,  and  "the  sum  of  £  8  was  voted  to  be  given  to  two 
firemen,  Duncan  Brown  and  James  Evetts,  for  their  activity  and  exertions  in 
extinguishing  the  fire."  This  was  the  first  recognition  of  acts  of  bravery  by 
fire  fighters. 

In  1748  the  scheme  of  making  the  Governor  independent  of  the  As- 
sembly by  a  permanent  revenue  was  revived  by  Governor  Clinton.  A  five 
years'  appropriation  was  urged  by  him  without  result,  though  the  vengeance 
of  the  King  was  threatened  in  case  of  non-compliance.  This,  with  his  re- 
fusal to  punish  the  captain  of  one  of  His  Majesty's  warships  who  had  fired 
on  a  party  of  colonists  returning  to  Elizabethtown  from  New  York,  killing 
one  of  their  number,  exasperated  the  people  and  caused  a  powerful  oppo- 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  43 

sition  to  rise  against  hiim.  Tlie  Assembly  grew  more  refractory  and  was 
prorogued,  and  Clinton,  worn  with  the  unsuccessful  struggle  to  obtain  his 
demands,  asked  England  to  accept  his  resignation.  Sir  Danvers  Osborne 
succeeded  him. 

On  February  19  of  this  year  it  was  "Ordered,  That  every  Common 
Councilman,  on  being  summoned  by  notice  left  at  his  house  by  some  white 
person,  and  not  attending  at  half  an  hour  after  the  ringing  of  the  bell,  be 
fined  2s.  6d.,  or  if  not  attending  at  all  that  day,  5s." 

Another  important  request  was  agreed  to  by  the  Council  on  June  28: 
"Nicholas  Bayard,  owner  of  a  strip  of  ground  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Broadway,  adjoining  the  English  churchyard  and  the  Chief  Justice's  lot, 
offered,  if  the  city  would  give  him  as  much  off  from  the  south  side  as  he 
owned  on  the  north,  he  would  leave  a  street  twenty-one  feet  in  width  from 
Broadway  to  Comfort's  Dock."  This  is  the  present  Thames  street.  The 
number  of  houses  this  year  was  1,834,  an  increase  of  418  in  eleven  years; 
with  a  new  improvement  by  Jacobus  Roosevelt — the  opening  of  Ferry  street. 

An  important  event  occurred  in  1750,  the  erection  of  the  first  theatre 
in  New  York.  The  earliest  plays  in  the  city  were  given  by  amateurs  in 
a  store  on  Conger's  Wharf,  near  Old  Slip.  The  performances  were  of  the 
light  comedy  order,  and  the  actors  in  them  the  young  men  and  women 
of  the  colony.  The  first  regular  theatre  was  a  stone  building,  in  the  rear 
of  the  Dutch  church,  in  Nassau  street,  with  a  Mr.  Hallam  as  manager.  The 
old  records  say  "the  company  was  tolerably  good."  Whether  through  lack 
of  attendance  or  appreciation,  or  because  of  caustic  criticism,  Mr.  Hallam 
removed  his  company  to  Jamaica,  and  the  colonists  went  unamused,  so  far 
as  theatres  were  concerned,  until  1760,  when  one  was  opened  in  Beekman 
street,  a  few  doors  below  Nassau,  under  the  auspices  of  Cadwallader  Colden. 
"The  Assembly  frowned  on  it,  considering  it  detrimental  to  good  morals, 
and  the  Mayor  attempted  to  obtain  the  passage  of  a  law  prohibiting  all  dra- 
matic performances  within  the  precincts  of  the  city."  His  effort  failed,  and 
the  theatre's  manager,  Philip  Miller,  continued  to  furnish  amusement  to  the 
people  until  the  days  of  the  Stamp  Act,  when  some  insulting  allusion  in  a 
play  then  being  produced  was  the  cause  of  its  destruction  by  the  Liberty 
Boys,  of  immortal  memory.  The  third  theatre  was  in  John  street,  of  which 
notice  will  be  taken  as  the  chronology  proceeds. 

On  April  26,  1750,  Dey  street  was  opened,  regulated  and  paved.  Men- 
tion is  made  in  the  manuscripts  that  from  Broadway  to  the  river  at  high 
water  mark  its  descent  was  twenty-six  feet  two  inches.  Beekman  street 
was  also  laid  out  and  paved  on  August  16  of  this  year.  Here  is  an  im- 
portant item:  "The  markets  were  leased  to  Skaats  for  £106  per  annum 
and  the  slips  for  £110.  The  Mayor  claimed  the  rent  of  the  markets  as 
clerk  of  the  same  by  charter,  but  the  Council  refused  to  allot  him  the 
same." 

That  baneful  business,  the  selling  of  liquors,  kept  march  with  the 
progress  of  the  city  up  to  1750,  as  196  persons  were  licensed,  the  sum  paid 
for  the  licenses  being  £258  6s.  The  churches,  however,  began  to  raise  their 
heads  in  New  York  and  to  act  as  deterrents  to  those  with  vicious  tenden- 
cies. In  1751  the  Moravian  church  was  built  in  Fulton  street,  and  in  1752 
St.  George's  church,  next  to  Trinity  the  oldest  Episcopal  church  in  this  city. 


44  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

was  erected  in  Beekman  street.  By  agreement  it  separated  from  Trinity 
and  became  a  distinct  parish  in  ISll.  On  January  5,  1814,  it  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  but  witli  tlie  aid  of  Trinity  Cliurch  it  was  rebuilt  and  consecrated 
in  November,  1815.  With  other  churches  in  the  downtown  section  of  the 
city,  it  was  forced  uptown  to  make  room  for  the  city's  increasing  commer- 
cial life. 

Another  interesting  item:  "Jacob  Turk  ordered  to  buy  six  small  speak- 
ing trumpets  for  the  Corporation." 

The  first  building  for  a  public  exchange  was  erected  in  Broad  street, 
at  or  near  the  intersection  of  Pearl  street,  in  1752.  "The  Corporation  gave 
£100  toward  its  erection,  and  the  balance  was  raised  by  private  subscrip- 
tion by  John  Watts  and  other  respectable  merchants."  It  was  leased  on 
February  11,  1755,  for  one  year  for  £30,  and  in  1758  for  £50  a  year.  It  is 
mentioned  as  the  place  of  frequent  public  meetings,  when  that  part  of  the 
city  was  the  chief  seat  of  trade.  In  1784  it  was  turned  into  a  market  place, 
and  in  1785  the  French  Consul,  Mr.  St.  John,  asked  permission  to  use  it  as  a 
place  of  worship  for  Catholics.  On  March  15,  1799,  it  was  ordered  to  be  re- 
moved. The  founders  of  the  first  exchange  had  peculiar  ideas  regarding  its 
situation,  as  a  pier  extended  in  front  of  it  as  far  as  Water  street,  and  an- 
other projected  at  right  angles  from  the  east  and  west  sides,  leaving  suffi- 
cient space  for  the  entry  of  vessels,  and  forming  a  spacious  and  secure  dock. 

The  successor  of  Governor  Clinton,  Sir  Danvers  Osborne,  arrived  in  the 
city  on  September  7,  1753.  He  was  welcomed  warmly  by  the  people,  but 
underneath  their  exuberance  a  spirit  of  rebellion  had  been  cultivated.  He 
also  was  charged  to  maintain  the  royal  prerogatives  and  to  demand  of  the 
Assembly  a  permanent  revenue,  to  be  disbursed  by  the  Governor  alone,  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council.  On  Septmber  12  the  new  Governor 
convened  the  Council  and  laid  his  instructions  before  them.  He  was  told 
by  it  that  the  Assembly  would  never  yield  obedience,  the  Chief  Justice,  De 
Lancey,  who  stood  beside  him,  confirming  the  Council's  information.  Gov- 
ernor Osborne  was  cast  down  at  the  turn  affairs  had  taken.  The  fractious- 
ness  of  the  people  over  whom  he  had  been  sent  to  rule,  and  with  whom, 
historians  believe,  he  desired  to  maintain  amicable  relations,  together 
with  the  derangement  of  his  reason  through  the  loss  of  his  wife  prior  to 
his  departure  for  his  new  post,  caused  him  such  suffering  that  he  com- 
mitted suicide.  He  was  buried  in  Trinity  churchyard,  though  protest  was 
made  by  the  rector,  who,  however,  was  overruled  by  the  Council. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


(1753-1758.) 


Old  Burial  Places — Founding  and  Early  Annals  of  King's  College — Mag- 
nificent Home  of  a  Merchant  Prince — First  Staten  Island  Ferry — 
St.  Andrew's  Society  Established— The  Debtors'  Jail. 

On  Fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

Their   silent    tents   are   spread, 
And  Glory  guards  with  solemn  round 

The  bivouac  of  the  dead. 

New  York's  "bivouacs  of  the  dead"  within  the  old  city's  limits  will  re- 
quire a  more  substantial  thing  than  glory  to  guard  them  during  this  cen- 
tury. Just  now  commercialism  rampant  and  speculation  couchant  have  eyes 
on  at  least  one  of  these  "unresting  preachers  of  shadow  and  reality,"  and 
perhaps  before  the  half  of  the  century  is  over  that  reminder  of  an  era  of 
sterling  virtues,  of  honest  and  patriotic  lives.  Trinity  Churchyard,  will  have 
been  swallowed  by  one  of  New  York's  never  sleeping  worshippers  of  the 
golden  calf,  and  towering  above  her  silent  makers  of  history  will  be  a  sky- 
scraper whose  occupants  will  care  little  for  the  hallowed  ground  on  which 
the  building  stands. 

Millions  of  dollars  have  been  offered  at  one  time  or  another  for  old 
Trinity's  site,  but  so  far  it  has  been  guarded  sturdily  by  the  vestry  of  her 
parish  against  the  desecrating  touch  of  speculation.  Why?  Because  Trinity 
is  American,  and,  while  New  Yorkers  are  forgetful  of  the  historical  associa- 
tions surrounding  her  God's  acre,  there  are  thousands  of  visitors  who  pay 
homage  to  the  knov^^n  and  unknown  among  her  dead.  ^ 

What  a  stretch  of  memory  it  is  from  1639  to  1909!  And  yet  the  earliest 
record  of  burial  in  Trinity — that  of  a  young  Holland  maiden — is  in  the 
former  year,  more  than  half  a  century  before  the  first  Trinity  Church  was 
erected.  At  that  time  Trinity  was  the  new  burying  ground  of  New  Amster- 
dam, and  was  far  away  from  the  little  dorp  that  clustered  around  Old  Slip 
and  the  fort.  The  latest  records  of  burial  are  of  those  who  fought  for 
the  union  of  the  States  in  the  60's.  On  Trinity's  tombstones  are  cut 
the  names  of  men  eminent  in  professional  and  business  life  in  the  old  and 
new  city,  and  men  who  patriotically  strove  to  leave  "footprints  on  the 
sands  of  Time"- — Pi'ancis  Lewis,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence; William  Bradford,  editor  of  New  York's  first  paper;  Colonel  Marinus 
Willett,  of  Revolutionary  fame;  Robert  Fulton,  who  launched  the  first 
steamboat  on  the  Hudson;  Captain  Lawrence,  whose  last  battle  cry,  "Don't 
give  up  the  ship!"  rolls  down  the  ages;  Captain  Lawrence's  widow,  who 
was  but  twenty-five  when  her  husband  achieved  immortal  glory,  and  who 

45 


46  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

lived  fifty-two  years  in  lier  widowhood;  Alexander  Hamilton,  who  assisted 
in  making  the  union  of  States  possible;  Charlotte  Temple,  with  slag  sunk 
in  the  turf  which  tells  of  a  short  life  sadly  ended,  and  many  other  notable 
ones  rest  beneath  Trinity's  greensward.  The  gates  of  the  churchyard  are 
always  open,  inviting  the  student  of  New  York's  past  to  visit  the  shrines 
of  patriotism  and  be  an  addition  to  the  few  who  treasuer  memories  of  her 
illustrious  dead. 

Lest  we  forget  our  chronology  and  that  all  absorbing  topic,  the  weather, 
in  1753  and  the  two  years  following,  "the  weather  was  so  mild  that  sloops 
went  from  New  York  to  Albany  in  January  and  February." 

James  De  Lancey,  Lieutenant  Governor,  assumed  direction  of  affairs  in 
the  colony  in  1753.  His  legacy  from  Sir  Danvers  Osborne  to  insist  on  a  per- 
manent revenue  and  to  refuse  to  sign  all  annual  appropriations  until  it 
was  granted  placed  him  in  a  difficult  position,  as  he  had  endeared  himself 
to  the  people  by  opposing  the  scheme  when  put  forth  by  Osborne.  He  ful- 
filled his  oath,  however,  by  urging  the  Assembly  to  conform  to  the  royal  in- 
structions, while  he  pressed  the  claims  of  the  people  on  the  home  govern- 
ment, and  eventually  obtained  the  concessions  they  desired. 

On  June  19,  1754,  the  Canadians  began  their  aggressions  upon  the 
frontier  settlements,  much  to  the  discontent  of  the  colonists,  and  a  congress 
of  deputies  from  the  colonies  met  at  Albany  '*to  take  measures  for  the  com- 
mon safety."  De  Lancey  presided,  and  an  alliance  with  the  Iroquois  was 
made.  It  was  at  this  congress  that  Benjamin  Franklin  presented  his  plan 
for  the  union  of  the  colonies,  which  was  never  carried  into  effect,  though  it 
suggested  the  idea  of  a  confederation  which  afterward  matured  into  the 
federal  union. 

King's  College,  Columbia  College,  Columbia  University — such  are  the 
titles  indicating  the  progress  educationally  of  one  of  New  York's  institu- 
tions of  learning.  Columbia  University  was  originally  founded  by  royal 
charter  in  the  year  1750,  under  the  name  of  King's  College,  by  which  title 
it  was  known  until  the  Revolution.  Its  first  site  was  at  the  foot  of  Park 
Place,  which  at  this  time  went  only  to  Church  street.  The  institution  was 
established  by  lottery  and  incorporated  by  Governor  De  Lancey,  who  signed 
and  sealed  the  charter  on  October  31,  1754,  though,  owing  to  internal  dis- 
sensions in  the  management,  it  was  not  delivered  until  the  following  May. 
By  the  provisions  of  the  charter  none  but  Episcopalians  were  eligible  as 
presidents — a  regulation  which  occasioned  ill  feeling  in  other  religious 
bodies,  and  resulted  in  attempts  to  break  down  the  college  by  the  Presby- 
terians. The  newspapers  of  the  old  city,  "The  Weekly  Mercury,"  a  govern- 
ment organ,  and  "The  American  Magazine  and  Historical  Chronicle,"  hav- 
ing fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Episcopalians,  sustained  that  party  in  the 
controversy,  leaving  the  Presbyterians  unsupported  until  1753,  when  "The 
Independent  Reflector"  was  established  by  them.  The  question  of  religious 
supremacy  was  argued  in  these  journals,  but  the  Episcopalian  side  rose 
superior,  owing  to  the  influence  nf  Governor  De  Lancey.  and  they  retained 
control  of  the  college  for  a  long  time. 

By  the  original  charter  the  various  rights  and  immunities  enjoyed  by 
the  English  universities  were  secured  to  this  seminary.  The  president  was 
required  to  belong  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  a  form  of  prayer  collated 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    XEIV     YORK.  47 

from  the  liturgy  of  that  Church,  with  an  appropriate  prayer  for  the  institu- 
tion, was  to  be  used  daily,  morning  and  evening,  in  the  college  chapel.  No 
religious  test,  however,  was  required  of  any  of  the  members  of  the  college 
or  the  professors,  and  all  denominations  were  equally  entitled  to  receive 
the  benefits  of  education.  In  the  year  1769  a  faculty  of  medicine  was  an- 
nexed to  the  college,  which  existed  until  1813,  when  the  College  of  Phy- 
sicians and  Surgeons,  established  in  1807,  absorbed  it. 

On  April  6,  1726,  an  order  was  issued  by  the  Committee  of  Public  Safe- 
ty, "directing  the  college  buildings  to  be  prepared  within  eight  days  for  the 
reception  of  the  military.  The  students,  in  consequence,  retired  to  their 
respective  homes,  and,  the  library  and  apparatus  having  been  deposited  for 
safekeeping  in  the  City  Hall,  the  college  edifice  was  converted  into  a  mili- 
tary hospital."  At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  by  an  act  of  the  State  legis- 
lature of  May  1,  1784,  a  board  was  appointed  to  superintend  the  general  in- 
terests of  education  throughout  the  State,  under  the  title  of  Regents  of  the 
University,  and  also  to  act  as  trustees  of  the  college.  On  April  13,  1787,  by 
act  of  the  legislature,  the  name  King's  College  was  changed  to  Columbia 
College,  and  a  new  board  of  trustees  was  appointed.  The  first  public  com- 
mencement of  the  reorganized  college  was  held  in  1786.  In  1829  the  num- 
ber of  students  was  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  the  tuition  $90  a  year.  The 
number  of  graduates  up  to  that  year  had  been  about  eight  hundred.  What 
a  roster  of  names  of  men  who  have  graduated  from  her  and  achieved  na- 
tional prominence  Columbia  has!  Too  many  to  name  here.  But  one  will  be 
named,  Alexander  Hamilton,  graduate  of  King's  College. 

In  1754  the  Walton  house  was  built  in  Pearl  street  by  William  Walton, 
a  merchant  and  son-in-law  of  James  De  Lancey.  When  Pearl  street  was 
known  as  Queen  street  and  was  the  aristocratic  part  of  the  old  city,  this 
house  was  in  its  glory.  Elegantly  fitted  up  and  furnished  luxuriously,  the 
fame  of  its  splendor  extended  to  England,  and  was  quoted  as  proof  of  the 
extravagance  of  the  Colonists.  The  existence  of  such  splendor  was  also  proof 
to  the  mother  country  that  the  people  could  stand  unlimited  taxation.  The 
richness  of  its  furnishings,  its  gold  plate  and  its  superb  entertainments 
were  spoken  of  in  Parliament  in  defence  of  the  passage  of  taxation  laws 
on  the  Colony.  The  house  was  of  yellow  Holland  brick.  It  was  encircled 
with  balustrades,  with  a  garden  extending  down  to  the  river,  and  men 
notable  in  history  passed  their  evenings  in  it.  It  was  torn  down  years 
ago,  and  now  the  tide  of  traffic  roars  on  the  spot  where  once  a  future  King 
of  England  danced  a  minuet. 

A  ferry  to  Staten  Isand  was  established  in  1755,  and  all  the  streets  in 
the  North  Ward  (that  part  of  the  city  lying  between  William,  Nassau  and 
Wall  streets  and  the  Collect)  were  paved.  On  September  20  of  this  year  Sir 
Charles  Hardy  succeeded  Governor  De  Lancey.  At  this  time  the  French 
and  Indian  War  was  raging  in  the  province,  and  the  commander  of  the 
American  forces  attempted  to  quarter  a  thousand  of  his  troops  on  the 
citizens  of  the  city,  who  rebelled,  regarding  the  act  as  an  infraction  of  their 
rights.  They  lodged  the  soldiers,  however,  in  Chambers  street,  but  refused 
to  take  care  of  the  officers.  Word  was  sent  to  the  general  about  it,  and  he 
hastened  to  the  city  to  force  compliance  with  his  order  as  to  quartering  the 
officers.     He  threatened  to  bring  all  the  troops  in  North  America  to  the  city 


48  CRADLE    DAYS     OF    XEJV     YORK. 

- 

and  billet  them  on  the  people.  The  citizens  stood  their  ground,  however, 
though  the  demand  of  the  general  was  supported  by  the  Governor.  This 
was  one  of  the  chief  grievances  that  culminated  in  the  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. 

Following  is  an  extract  from  the  manuscripts  regarding  the  system  pur- 
sued by  the  Mother  Country,  so-called,  to  oppress  the  people  of  New  York: 
"One  thousand  stand  of  arms  imported  from  England  by  the  Corporation,  at 
an  expense  of  £3,000,  and  deposited  in  the  City  Hall;  and  the  Corporation 
petitioned  the  Governor  for  a  lottery,  to  raise  money  to  pay  off  this  excessive 
and  alarming  debt."  An  "armament  was  fitted  out  from  New  York  for  the 
French  war  in  Canada,  and  batteaux  built,  near  Dey  street."  April  2,  1756, 
"Council  purchased  fifty  pounds  of  pistol  powder,  and  fixed  up  the  cartridge 
boxes  in  the  City  Hall."     These  all  relate  to  the  Canadian  war. 

On  May  5,  175G,  "Ordered,  That  Mr.  Lispenard  and  Mr.  Van  Ranst  be 
a  committee  to  remove  the  gallows  from  where  it  now  stands  to  the  place 
where  the  negroes  were  burnt,  some  five  years  ago,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill 
called  Catiemut's  Hill,  near  the  fresh  water"  (Pearl  and  Centre  street). 
What  a  grewsome  undertaking! 

This  year  St.  Andrew's  Society  was  established,  on  November  19,  by 
natives  of  Scotland  and  men  of  Scottish  descent,  for  charitable  purposes. 
The  objects  of  this  society  w^ere  friendly  intercourse  between  the  natives  of 
Scotland  and  their  descendants,  the  relieving  of  deserving  poor,  the 
furnishing  of  implements  and  materials  for  domestic  manufacture  to  the 
industrious  poor,  the  giving  of  money,  medicine,  clothing  and  fuel  to  the 
needy.  In  some  cases  homes  were  provided  for  the  destitute.  While  for 
a  period  of  twenty  years  this  society  adhered  strictly  to  the  law  regarding 
the  holding  of  meetings  and  the  dispensing  of  charity,  in  1775  it  suspended 
its  meetings,  but  continued  to  distribute  for  benevolent  purposes  the  capital 
accumulated  during  the  Revolution.  At  the  restoration  of  peace  it  renewed 
its  vigor,  and  from  17S4  until  the  present  it  has  continued  to  sustain  its 
original  character. 

The  reign  of  Sir  Charles  Hardy  as  Governor  was  short.  While  he  was 
well  thought  of  by  the  Colonists,  the  position  palled  on  him,  and  his  peti- 
tion to  the  Crown  to  restore  him  to  his  former  command  in  the  navy 
was  granted  in  1757.  The  control  of  affairs  again  fell  to  De  Lancey.  Mean- 
while the  conquest  of  Canada  occupied  the  attention  of  the  citizens,  and 
large  bodies  of  militia  went  from  New  York  to  aid  in  the  defence  of  the 
English  forts.  "The  Corporation  had  barracks  made  for  eight  hundred  men. 
It  was  built  on  the  Commons,  between  the  jail  and  Catiemut's  Hill  (in 
Chatham  street).  The  sum  of  £3,500  was  received  from  the  Treasury  of  the 
Colony  for  the  barracks  and  support  of  soldiers." 

Long  Island  Ferry,  which  was  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  was 
leased  in  1758  for  £650  a  year,  and  Bedlow's  Island  was  purchased  by  the 
Corporation  from  Archibald  Kennedy  for  £  1,000  for  the  purpose  of  erecting 
a  pesthouse  on  it. 

In  1758  the  jail  for  the  confinement  of  debtors  was  erected  on  the  east 
side  of  the  City  Hall,  nearly  adjoining  Chatham  street,  now  Park  Row.  Cen- 
tre street  had  not  been  opened  at  the  time,  and  City  Hall  Park  extended 
to  Chatharii  street.     It  was  a  small  stone  building,  nearly  square,  three 


CRADLE     DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK.  49 

stories  high,  with  a  belfry  rising  from  the  centre.  A  chapel  was  fitted  up 
on  the  first  floor  and  prayers  were  read  every  Thursday.  No  settled  allow- 
ance was  made  by  the  Corporation  for  the  support  of  the  prisoners,  nor  had 
they  any  bedding.  The  inmates  were  permitted  to  walk  on  the  roof  of  the 
building  at  seasonable  hours  "for  healthful  purposes,"  and  those  who  desired 
to  reside  outside  the  limits  of  the  jail  paid  50  cents,  as  well  as  finding  proper 
security  to  satisfy  the  jailer,  but  only  after  judgment  had  been  obtained. 
Those  arrested  for  debt  previous  to  the  obtaining  of  a  judgment  were  re- 
quired to  find  bail  for  their  appearance.  After  the  organization  of  the  Hu- 
mane Society  in  1787,  each  prisoner  was  given  half  a  pound  of  meat,  three 
pints  of  soup,  two  potatoes  and  an  Indian  cornmeal  dumpling  every  twenty- 
four  hours.     The  old  Hall  of  Records  was  the  site  of  the  jail. 


CHAPTER  X. 


(1759-1766.) 


Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Faithful  Domestic  Servants  Organized- 
Development  of  Chatham  Street— First  Baptist  Church — Law 
Regulating  Price  of  Meat — Sandy  Hook  Lighthouse. 

The  housekeepers  of  the  early  nineteenth  century  must  have  had  an 
experience  similar  to  those  of  the  twentieth  century  in  the  employing  of 
household  help  and  the  retaining  of  it,  according  to  the  record  of  the 
formation  of  a  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Faithful  Domestic  Ser- 
vants established  nearly  one  hundred  years  ago,  with  headquarters  in 
Chambers  street.  At  that  time  the  question  of  the  autocracy  of  the  upstairs 
girl  and  the  downstairs  girl,  of  the  cook,  the  nurse  and  the  maid  and  of  all 
the  rest  of  the  nerve  destroying,  anger  breeding  household  help  no  doubt 
had  been  thoroughly  considered,  resolving  itself  eventually  into  the  forma- 
tion of  a  society  for  mutual  protection  and  the  settlement  of  the  question  in 
an  Interesting  way.  Of  course,  a  similar  plan,  if  adopted  to-day,  would 
limit  tne  field  of  the  caricaturist  and  cause  the  writer  of  jokes  on  the  mis- 
tress and  maid  question  much  worry  to  find  a  hospitable  place  for  his 
stock  of  hoary  and  wanton  puns,  but  what  relief  would  come  to  the  house- 
holder when  the  servant  raven  disappeared  from  the  door,  and  the  cheery 
"Yes,  ma'am,"  "No,  ma'am,"  took  its  place,  and  the  cook  welcomed  the 
mistress  to  the  kitchen  and  the  butler  removed  the  shoes  of  the  master 
from  their  telltale  place  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  etc.  Oh,  happy  day! 
Here  is  the  narrative  of  the  society's  formation: 

A  committee  of  women  representative  of  New  York's  best  families, 
finding  it  hard  to  retain  servants,  formed  the  association  mentioned  above, 
placing  the  fee  for  membership  in  it  at  $5.  They  chose  as  officers  a  presi- 
dent and  eight  managers,  who  were  subscribers,  and  an  agent,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  keep  a  register  of  all  persons  applying  for  places  as  domestics  oi 
servants  of  any  description,  and  who  could  produce  good  written  recom- 
mendations that  they  were  entitled  to  have  their  names  registered.  As 
the  primary  object  of  the  society  was  to  offer  liberal  premiums  to  those 
domestics  who  conducted  themselves  well  and  remained  longest  in  a  family, 
the  society  adopted  a  graded  list  of  awards,  to  be  given  annually  to  all 
nominated  servants.  Subscribers  were  the  nominators  for  such  premiums, 
and  any  of  them  who  were  found  giving  a  false  character  to  a  servant 
were  excluded  from  the  society.  Premiums  were  bestowed  for  one,  two  and 
three  or  more  years  of  faithful  service,  and  also  a  premium  of  1  per  cent, 
on  all  balances  in  the  savings  bank,  the  books  to  be  exhibited  to  the  agent. 

50 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NFAV     YORK.  51 

"It  is  requested,"  says  the  document  of  organization,  "that  the  certifcales 
of  character  be  full  and  explicit  as  the  servants  deserve,  as  the  yearly 
gratuity  is  a  certain  one  to  every  nominated  servant  for  perspective  ser- 
vices, and  on  the  servant  bringing  her  certificate  to  the  office,  with  a  letter 
from  her  employer,  stating  her  continuance  in  her  place  and  her  good  con- 
duct, she  is  entitled  to  receive 

"A  handsome  octavo  Bible,  or  in  lieu  thereof $2 

"In   two  years  thereafter 3 

"In  three   years 5 

"In  four    years 7 

"In  five  years 10 

"Any  subscriber  who  entices  or  inveigles  away  a  servant  from  any 
other  person,  or  who  treats  servants  harshly  or  unjustly,  shall  be  dealt  with 
as  the  society  directs,  and  under  no  consideration  shall  influence  be  per- 
mitted to  swerve  the  officers  from  doing  the  duty  which  devolves  on  them 
through  the  society's  order." 

The  benefits  of  this  institution  were  manifested  in  1825,  for  among 
thirty  thousand  servants  of  all  descriptions  in  the  city  only  eight  thousand 
were  not  enrolled  on  the  society's  books,  and  even  among  these  peace 
reigned. 

On  March  14,  1759,  "Chatham  street  began  to  develop  and  a  few  houses 
were  erected  shortly  after,"  and  "several  lots  of  ground  were  leased  for 
twenty-one  years,  between  the  new  jail  and  Captain  Brown's  house,  near 
the  palisadoes,  where  the  windmill  formerly  stood,  to  commence  on  the  1st 
of  May,  at  £  3  10s.  per  annum."  Some  one  is  touring  Europe,  or  sailing  the 
seas  on  his  yacht,  or  manipulating  stocks,  or  doing  the  thing  that  millions 
of  dollars  permit  him  to  do,  from  the  rent  of  this  land  in  1909. 

After  the  war  which  secured  to  England  the  conquest  of  Canada  the 
people  of  the  colony,  on  the  morning  of  July  30,  1760,  met  with  a  severe 
loss  in  the  death  of  Lieutenant  Governor  De  Lancey,  who  died  suddenly 
in  his  library.  "The  popularity  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor  had  been  so 
great  that  his  remains  were  escorted  by  a  large  concourse  of  citizens  from 
his  house  on  the  east  side  of  the  Bowery,  a  little  above  Grand  street,  to 
Trinity  Church,  where  he  was  interred  in  the  middle  aisle,  the  funeral 
services  being  performed  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Barclay."  Cadwalader  Colden, 
at  this  time  seventy-three  years  of  age,  succeeded  him,  and,  though  he  had 
been  actively  engaged  in  public  affairs  for  many  years  and  possessed  po- 
litical talent  of  uncommon  order,  the  old  manuscripts  say  that  "he  wrecked 
his  popularity  by  taking  oaths  which  compelled  him  to  sacrifice  the  rights 
of  his  countrymen  upon  the  shrine  of  official  duty." 

The  first  link  in  the  chain  of  Baptist  churches  was  made  this  year 
by  building  a  house  of  worship  in  Gold  street,  near  Fulton.  It  was  of  blue- 
stone  and  stood  until  1840,  when  the  stone  of  which  it  was  composed  was 
worked  into  the  First  Baptist  Church,  on  the  corner  of  Broome  and  Eliza- 
beth streets,  to  which  the  congregation  removed. 

In  1761  "the  steeple  of  Trinity  Church  was  struck  by  lightning  and 
consumed  to  the  belfry,"  and  in  the  same  year  General  Robert  Monckton, 


52 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 


who  was  then  commanding  his  majesty's  forces  on  Staten  Island,  was  com- 
missioned Governor.  The  records  say  he  was  not  distasteful  to  the  people, 
as  on  October  26,  when  he  published  his  commission  at  the  City  Hall,  he 
declared  that  "he  had  no  instructions,  and  hoped  never  to  have  any."  This 
sounded  like  rebellion,  but  the  English  Government  had  tired  of  contesting 
with  the  Colonists  regarding  representative  rights,  permanent  revenue  and 
many  other  aggressions,  and  conceded  them  the  right  to  tax  themselves,  not 
even  insisting  on  the  permanent  revenue  scheme.  The  city  at  this  time 
had  a  population  of  14,000,  waste  land  was  being  utilized,  public  buildings 
were  springing  up  here  and  there,  and  commerce  was  fast  showing  its  hand, 
though  with  all  the  pervading  calm  the  tempest  of  revolution  was  gathering. 

In  1762  "£102  were  given  by  the  Corporation  to  refugees  from  St. 
John's,  Newfoundland,"  and  "no  rain  fell  from  May  till  November,  and  this 
is  recorded  as  the  most  remarkable  drouth  ever  known  in  this  country." 
Here  is  a  scintillating  record: 

"1763 — Complaints  made  by  the  citizens  in  a  petition  to  the  Cor- 
poration of  the  high  prices  of  meat,  etc.,  'as  considerably  higher  than  other 
cities,'  and  in  consequence  a  law  was  passed  regulating  the  price  of  such 
things,  which  gave  offence  to  the  country  people  and  to  the  butchers,  as 
will  be  seen;  for  on  the  23d  of  December  'John  Carpenter,  butcher,  declared 
he  would  sell  his  beef  for  four  pence  a  pound,  in  spite  of  all  that  the 
wiseheads  could  do,'  or  words  to  that  effect,  and  in  consequence  his  license 
was  taken  from  him,  he  was  turned  out  of  the  market,  and  also  disfran- 
chised." 

"The  following  were  the  prices  assessed  by  the  Corporation  for  the 
most  important  articles  in  market  to  be  sold  for,  viz.,  beef,  4i^d  per  pound; 
pork,  5d  per  pound;  hindquarter  of  veal,  5d  per  pound;  forequarter,  4i^d 
per  pound;  mutton,  4r^d  per  pound;  butter.  Is  3d  per  pound;  milk,  6  cop- 
pers per  quart."  The  weight  of  bread  had  been  established  in  1684, 
varying,  of  course,  with  the  rise  or  fall  of  flour — "a  white  bread  loaf,  of 
thirteen  ounces,  was  assized  to  be  sold  for  five  stivers  of  wampum,  or  one 
penny  halfpenny."  In  1761  "a  loaf  of  bread  one  pound  twelve  ounces 
in  weight  sold  for  four  coppers." 

The  colonists  began  "to  sit  up  and  take  notice"  in  1763.  Sandy 
Hook  lighthouse  was  lighted  for  the  first  time.  And,  by  the  way,  the 
purchase  price  of  the  entire  isthmus  a  few  years  later  was  $20,000.  Ferries 
were  established  between  Paulus  Hook  (Jersey  City)  and  Miesier's  Dock 
(Cortlandt  street),  and  between  Staten  Island  and  Bergen,  and  packet 
boats  and  stages  made  the  journey  between  Philadelphia  and  New  York  in 
three  days — "a  considerable  improvement  in  travelling  arrangements." 
These  boats  ran  from  the  Battery  to  Perth  Amboy,  where  stages  conveyed 
•the  freight  and  passengers  to  Burlington,  N.  J.  At  this  point  another  boat 
was  taken  for  Philadelphia.  There  were  other  routes,  but  this  one 
seemed  to  be  the  most  used.  Mail  went  regularly  twice  a  week  between 
Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Methodism  was  first  introduced  in  New 
York  about  this  time  by  members  of  Wesley's  Society  from  England  and 
Ireland,  who  had  previously  settled  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  In 
1766  "two  local  preachers  began  to  preach  in  New  York  and  one  in  Mary- 
land, and  made  some  converts.     Mr.   Webb,  a  lieutenant  in   his  majesty's 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  53 

service,  preached  at  New  York  and  Philadelphia  with  great  success."  lu 
1767  Philip  Embury  and  others  erected  the  first  church  in  John  street, 
near  Nassau,  and  called  it  Wesley  Chapel.  It  stood  until  1817,  when  it  was 
replaced  by  a  larger  structure  "built  in  modern  fashion,  with  the  pews 
sloping  from  the  rear  of  the  house  down  to  the  pulpit,  which  is  low;  the 
house  is  lighted  with  gas  during  evening  service."  A  third  structure  was 
built,  which  still  stands. 

The  first  president  of  King's  College  resigned  in  1763,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Dr.  Cooper.  It  was  his  pleasure  to  receive  a  bequest  of  1,200 
volumes,  made  by  Dr.  Bristow,  of  England,  as  the  foundation  of  a  library 
for  the  college,  though  Joseph  Murray,  a  member  of  the  colony,  in  1757  had 
bequeathed  a  collection  to  it. 

1764 — "Trial  of  Forsey  and  Cunningham,  in  a  case  of  assault  and 
battery;  chiefly  remarkable  as  it  presents  a  case,  till  then  unprecedented,  of 
setting  aside  the  verdict  of  a  jury  without  granting  a  new  trial." 

St.  Paul's  Chapel,  Broadway  and  Vesey  street,  was  erected  in  1765. 
Here  is  a  comment  made  by  a  New  York  paper  in  1794  as  to  its  spire, 
which  was  erected  then:  "The  spire  of  this  church  is  one  of  the  noblest 
ornaments  of  the  city,  and  is,  with  the  entire  building,  justly  esteemed 
one  of  the  best  specimens  of  architecture."  It  seems  to  have  been  growing 
smaller  of  late,  because  of  the  effect  of  the  high  buildings  which  surround 
it.  Superstitious  people  in  the  early  nineteenth  century  said  that  the 
marble  figure  of  St.  Paul,  above  the  portico,  when  It  heard  the  clock  strike 
12   at  midnight  of  St.   Paul's  Day  "came  down  and  walked   the  streets." 

"Cliff  street  and  Park  Place  were  opened  and  regulated  in  1766,  and 
for  the  better  prevention  of  fires  an  ordinance  was  passed  directing  that  all 
the  roofs  in  the  city  should  be  covered  with  slate  or  tiles."  Tiles  alone 
were  used  for  some  years  after. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


(1769-1768.) 


Old  State  Prison — First  Colonial  Congress — Stamp  Duties — First  Lutheran 
Church — The  Brick  Church — Liberty  Pole  Erected — Disfran- 
chisement of  the  Province — Scotch  Presbyterian  Church. 

Many  transformations  have  taken  place  in  buildings  which  over  one 
hundred  years  ago  occupied  prominent  places  in  old  New  York.  One  worthy 
of  mention  was  the  old  State  prison.  This  institution  was  erected  in  1796, 
on  Amos  street  (now  West  Tenth  street),  and,  while  its  outside  walls  still 
remain,  reminiscent  of  the  days  of  turmoil  and  trouble  in  the  colony,  im- 
provements have  served  to  give  it  a  modern  appearance.  The  firm  of 
brewers  which  until  lately  occupied  this  ancient  structure  changed  its 
interior,  but  the  inquisitive  visitor  may  here  and  there  be  reminded  of  its 
former  use.  When  it  was  erected  the  prison  yard  extended  to  the  river,  and 
all  around  it  were  fields,  east  and  west,  north  and  south.  The  locality  now 
is  recognizable  to  only  a  few  old  people,  residents  of  Greenwich  Village, 
and  one  of  these  pointed  out  to  the  writer  the  position  of  a  sandy  beach, 
where  in  the  old  days  the  effect  of  the  summer  heat  was  lessened  by  a  plunge 
into  the  waters  of  the  North  River.  No  executions  took  place  in  this 
prison.  In  Dutch  Colonial  days,  before  Greenwich  prison  was  built,  outside 
the  Battery  on  the  beach  was  the  place  selected  for  rewarding  the  unforgiv- 
able evildoer,  and  under  the  English  the  present  City  Hall  Park.  Then 
the  scene  changed  to  Houston  and  Wooster  streets,  and  afterward  to  Wash- 
ington Square,  where  the  criminals  of  the  Amos  street  prison  were  executed 
and  buried  under  the  gallows,  as  was  the  case  in  each  place  mentioned.  A 
writer  of  these  days  says:  "It  is  a  curious  fact  that  most  of  our  smaller 
parks  were  not  reserved  as  pleasure  places,  but  for  public  use  in  the  inter- 
ment of  paupers."  City  Hall  Park  was  at  one  time  a  Potter's  field,  and  a 
negro  burial  ground  adjoined  it,  the  limit  of  which  on  the  north  was  the 
present  Stewart  Building,  at  Broadway  and  Chambers  street.  Madison 
Square  was  also  a  resting  place  for  the  unnamed  dead,  as  was  Washington 
Square.  In  it  in  1819  and  1822  yellow  fever  patients  were  buried.  Who 
thinks  of  that  now,  or  that  the  House  of  Refuge  occupied  a  site  then  known 
as  the  junction  of  the  Bloomingdale  and  Boston  roads?  This  spot  is  now  the 
site  of  the  Worth  monument. 

A  story  is  told  of  an  inmate  of  Greenwich  prison  who  had  been 
sentenced  to  die  on  the  gallows,  but  at  the  last  moment,  through  the 
influence  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  had  his  sentence  commuted  to  life 
imprisonment,  and  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  shoe  shop  in   the  prison. 

54 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    XEIV     YORK.  55 

The  Quakers  worked  for  his  release,  and,  having  secured  it,  placed  him  in 
a  shoe  shop  of  his  own.  His  business  flourished,  and  he  was  prominently 
identified  with  the  progress  of  the  times.  He  had  an  itching  palm,  however, 
and  after  a  time  he  forged  the  names  of  all  his  business  friends,  eloped  with 
the  daughter  of  one  of  his  benefactors  and  disappeared  from  the  earth, 
apparently.  "Murder  will  out."  A  few  years  after  the  forger  returned 
to  the  city  and  established  himself  under  an  assumed  name  in  the  making 
of  shoes,  forgetting,  however,  to  maintain  complacency,  and  thinking  that 
no  one  would  recognize  him.  In  a  passion  at  what  he  considered  the  care- 
lessness of  one  of  his  workmen  regarding  the  time  some  work  should  have 
been  delivered,  he  told  the  man  he  should  not  have  promised  it,  as  it 
caused  disappointment.  "Master,"  said  the  workman,  "you  have  disap- 
pointed me  worse  than  that."  "How,  you  rascal?"  "When  I  waited  a 
whole  hour  in  the  rain  to  see  you  hanged." 

When  Cadwallader  Golden  assumed  authority  over  New  York  for  the 
second  time  as  Governor  in  1760,  succeeding  Governor  Monckton,  who 
desired  pleasanter  pursuits,  the  contest  between  Great  Britain  and  her 
colonies,  which  culminated  in  the  Revolution,  was  in  embryo.  While 
the  colony  was  poor  and  struggling  Great  Britain  let  it  alone,  but  when, 
through  indomitable  perseverance  and  courage,  the  Dutch  settlement  had 
resolved  itself  into  a  flourishing  province,  the  usual  course  at  that  time 
was  pursued  to  wrest  it  from  the  hands  of  its  builders.  To  do  this  it 
was  necessary  to  incense  the  people,  and  rigorous  restrictions  were  imposed 
for  the  purpose.  Under  cover  of  regulating  the  trade  of  the  colonies.  Great 
Britain  levied  heavy  duties  upon  imports,  and  at  the  same  time  suppressed 
all  attempts  at  home  manufacture.  Nor  were  the  colonists  allowed  to 
trade  with  foreign  countries  or  to  send  to  England  any  merchandise  unless 
it  was  carried  by  English  vessels.  It  was  a  violation  of  law  to  manufacture 
an  axe  or  a  hammer,  though  the  country  was  full  of  iron,  and  in  order  to 
limit  the  manufacture  of  beaver  hats  two  apprentices  only  were  allowed 
to  each  hatter,  and  hats  could  not  be  sold  by  one  colony  to  another.  No 
cloth  could  be  manufactured  except  for  private  use,  or  exported  from  one 
town  to  another.  The  raw  material  must  be  sent  to  England  for  manu- 
facture, and  then  come  back  as  imported  cloth,  with  heavy  duty,  of  course. 
Although  the  colony  had  been  taxed  heavily  for  the  carrying  on  of  the 
French  and  Indian  wars,  and  had  been  left  burdened  with  a  heavy  debt, 
the  British  Ministry  was  insatiable  in  its  desire  and  proposed  the  pas- 
sage of  a  law  to  raise  a  permanent  revenue  from  the  colonies  by  direct 
taxation- — taxing  various  articles  of  foreign  produce  and  establishing  stamp 
duties.  Every  schoolboy  knows  how  this  action  resulted;  how  in  1765  the 
Stamp  Act  was  finally  passed;  how  the  news  of  its  passage  reached  New 
York  early  in  April  of  that  year;  how  copies  of  the  act  were  hawked 
about  the  streets  with  a  death's  head  affixed  to  each,  and  under  it  the 
inscription,  "The  Folly  of  England  and  the  Ruin  of  America";  how  the 
citizens  resolved  not  to  use  the  stamped  papers,  etc.  One  James  McEvers 
was  the  official  stamp  distributer  for  New  York,  and  "much  distrusted  by 
the  people,  who  resolved  that  this  distribution  never  should  take  place." 

On  October  7,  1765,  a  congress  of  delegates — the  first  Colonial  Con- 
gress— from  the  several  provinces  met  in  New  York  in  the  City  Hall,   in 


56  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

Wall  street,  to  consult  in  respect  to  a  proposed  confederation.  Previous  to 
the  meeting  a  committee  waited  on  Lieutenant  Governor  Colden,  to  solicit 
his  aid  and  sympathy.  His  answer  was:  "Your  congress  is  unconstitu- 
tional, unprecedented  and  unlawful,  and  I  shall  give  you  no  countenance." 
He  ordered  the  fortifications  strengthened  and  proper  provision  made  for 
the  reception  of  the  stamps.  The  record:  "Great  excitement  existed  in 
the  city,  and  a  civil  war  was  feared.  McEvers,  the  stamp  distributer,  had 
disappeared,  fearing  the  fury  of  the  populace.  No  official  dared  touch  the 
paper  when  Captain  Davis  delivered  it.  The  Corporation  induced  the  Gov- 
ernor and  commander  in  chief  to  deposit  it  in  the  City  Hall  for  safekeeping, 
and  on  November  1  the  Governor  and  the  devil  holding  the  Stamp  Act  were 
burned  in  effigy,  after  being  paraded  through  the  streets." 

"Archibald  Kennedy,  William  McAdam  and  Cornelius  Van  Voorste 
petitioned  for  an  exclusive  ferry  to  the  Jersey  shore."  Another  record: 
"The  library  room  in  the  City  Hall  repaired,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Jackson 
appointed  librarian,  and  directed  to  let  the  books  out  for  hire  as  follows, 
viz.:  Folios,  2s.  a  week;  quartos.  Is.;  octavos,  6d.  His  c-alary  to  be  £4  per 
annum,  and  his  attendance  to  deliver  and  receive  books  to  be  on  Mondays 
and  Thursdays,  from  half-past  11  till  1  o'clock."  This  record  bespeaks  a 
restful  community,  which  at  this  time  did  not  exist.  Robinson  street  (now 
Park  Place)   was  laid  out  and  regulated  in   1765. 

■*  With  the  arrival  of  the  second  consignment  of  stamps  came  the  newly 
appointed  Governor,  Sir  Henry  Moore,  "who  won  the  affections  of  the 
people  by  declaring  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  obnoxious  papers." 
Peter  De  Lancey,  Jr.,  had  in  the  mean  time  taken  the  place  of  the  recreant 
stamp  distributer,  McEvers,  but,  on  being  warned  by  the  people  that  it 
would  be  better  for  him  to  resign,  did  so,  saying  he  was  ignorant  of  the 
objections  of  the  people,  and  would  publish  a  disclaimer  in  the  papers  of  the 
day,  which  appeared  with  a  formal  renunciation  exacted  from  McEvers. 
Governor  Moore  "conciliated  his  subjects  by  ordering  the  discontinuance 
of  the  erection  of  the  fortifications  begun  by  Colden  at  the  fort,  and  by 
declaring  that  he  would  not  meddle  with  the  enforcement  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  which  was  repealed  on  February  20,  1766." 

"Grant  of  ground  to  the  Dutch  Church  of  twenty-eight  lots  for  a  burial 
place,  viz.:  ten  lots  bounded  north  on  Queen  street  (part  of  Pearl  street), 
eight  lots  east  and  south  on  Thomas  street,  and  ten  lots  west  on  George 
street  (Spruce  street),  some  larger  and  some  smaller."  The  Presbyterian 
Church,  through  John  Rogers  and  Joseph  Treat,  ministers,  and  John  Morrin 
Scott,  Peter  R.  Livingston  and  others,  as  trustees,  this  year  "petitioned  in 
a  long  and  eloquent  appeal  for  the  angular  lot,  lately  called  the  Vineyard, 
stating  the  great  increase  of  that  persuasion;  and  the  land  asked  for  was 
unanimously  granted  to  them,  at  a  rent  of  £40  per  annum,  as  follows,  viz.: 
152  feet  on  the  southwest,  214  on  northwest,  62  on  northeast  and  200  on 
the  south  side;  and  the  present  Brick  Church  in  Beekman  street,  erected 
thereon  in  1767." 

The  same  year  the  Powles  Hook  Ferry  v/as  let  at  £4  0  a  year,  and  the 
"landing  established  at  the  lower  end  of  Thomas  street,  or  Thames  street, 
at  Roosevelt's  Pier."    The  ferry  over  the  East  River  "brought  £660." 

On    October    14    Whitehead   Hicks,    the    last   Mayor    appointed    by    the 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  57 

Colonial  government,  assumed  ofTicc.    He  was  regularly  appointed  until  1776. 

The  Liberty  Pole  of  historic  import  was  erected  on  Jane  4,  1766,  George 
Ill's  birthday,  on  the  Commons,  as  the  crowning  event  of  a  day  of  celebra- 
tions, at  which  Governor  Moore,  hoping  to  strengthen  the  loyalty  of  the 
citizens,  "politically  encouraged  them  in  their  rejoicings."  It,  or  rather 
the  ground  on  which  it  w^as  erected,  served  as  the  rallying  point  for  many  a 
sharp  contest  during  the  succeeding  years,  and  stood  "for  a  principle  as 
dear  to  the  New  Yorkers  as  that  of  personal  taxation.'  The  first  pole  was 
cut  down  by  the  28th  British  Regiment  on  the  succeeding  August  10,  was 
again  set  up,  and  again  cut  down  on  the  night  of  September  23.  A  third  was 
erected  on  September  25,  and  by  order  of  Governor  Moore  was  permitted  to 
stand.  On  March  18,  1767,  it  was  again  leveled  to  the  ground,  but  the  next 
day  a  more  substantial  one,  "well  secured  with  iron  bands,"  was  erected, 
and,  though  repeated  assaults  were  made  on  it  by  the  British  soldiers,  it 
continued  to  stand,  a  trophy  of  the  victory  of  the  people. 

In  1767  a  Lutheran  Chvirch  was  built  in  the  swamp,  corner  of  William 
and  Frankfort  streets.  It  was  of  stone,  and  the  service  was  performed  in  the 
German  language. 

Another  storm  broke  over  the  city — the  immediate  cause  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution.  With  the  news  of  the  disfranchisement  of  the  province 
came  the  enactment  of  a  law  by  the  Ministry  under  William  Pitt — the  im- 
position of  the  duties  on  tea,  glass,  paper,  painter's  colors  and  lead  "which 
should  be  henceforth  imported  into  the  colonies."     The  rest  is  history. 

In  1768  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church  in  Cedar  street  was  built. 
"The  church  was  lighted  with  gas  during  evening  service." 

The  Governor,  "who  was  really  of  a  conciliatory  disposition,  and  who 
endeavored  in  vain  to  restrain  the  demonstrations  of  the  people  and  to 
bring  them  back  to  a  sense  of  their  loyalty,"  died  suddenly  on  September  11, 
1769,  when  Cadwalladei"  Golden  again  assumed  authority. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


(1768-1770.) 

Captain  Kidd— New  York  Hospital  Founded — Fourth,  or  North,  Church — 

Marine  Society  Incorporated — Statue  of  George  III 

Ordered  Erected — Statue  of  Pitt. 

The  press  teems  with  tales  of  treasure  trove.  Before  the  disasters 
attending  a  hunt  for  Montezuma's  wealth  on  Cocos  Island  are  forgotten, 
a  treasure  ship  is  discovered  on  the  Florida  coast.  Then  a  citizen  of 
New  Rochelle  returns  from  an  unsuccessful  hunt  of  tv/o  years  among  the 
South  Sea  islands  for  $50,000,000  supposed  to  have  been  hidden  by  pirates. 
Now  comes  the  news  that  a  number  of  New  York  business  men  are  organiz- 
ing another  expedition  to  hunt  for  the  hidden  hoards  of  our  own  Captain 
Kidd.  They  are  supplied  with  maps,  too,  and  have  apparently  authentic 
data  on  which  to  proceed.  Some  time  in  the  early  70's  there  arrived  here 
from  San  Francisco  an  old  man  whose  name  may  not  be  mentioned  here.  He 
had  made  a  fortune  in  mining,  and  invested  extensively  in  real  estate  in 
Madison  and  Lexington  avenues  and  Thirty-fifth  street.  He  gave  liberally 
to  charitable  and  religious  institutions.  One  of  his  benefactions  was  a 
church  in  that  neighborhood,  which  he  built  and  presented  to  the  congrega- 
tion. He  had  numbered  among  his  friends  John  Jacob  Astor  and  President 
Zachary  Taylor.  A  letter  written  to  him  by  the  latter,  thanking  him  for 
efforts  in  securing  Taylor's  election  to  the  Presidency,  has  been  frequently 
read  in  some  of  the  public  schools  of  this  city.  The  old  man  finally  suffered 
business  reverses,  eventually  becoming  so  old  and  poor  that  his  friends  had 
him  admitted  to  a  home  for  aged  men.  To  recompense  one  of  these  friends 
he  gave  him  a  paper  which  purported  to  be  a  map  of  the  place  where  Kidd's 
treasure  was  buried.  This  map  was  given  by  Kidd's  colored  cook  to  Thomas 
Clark-,  of  New  Haven.  When  Clark  died  he  gave  the  map  to  a  daughter, 
aged  fifteen.  She  married  and  moved  to  Vermont  in  1799.  Dying  in  1840, 
she  gave  the  map  to  her  son,  who  was  the  Californian  mentioned  above.  A 
search  was  made  for  the  treasure,  which  proved  unsuccessful,  but  the  topo- 
graphical description  was  found  to  be  accurate,  so  a  second  and  more 
thorough  search  may  be  made. 

There  is  scarcely  a  spot  on  the  coast  between  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  May, 
however,  which  does  not  possess  data  apparently  as  authentic  as  that  given 
above,  proving  that  Kidd's  hoard  is  hidden  somewhere  near,  and  the  ac- 
counts of  Captain  Kidd  vary  so  widely  that  an  authentic  history  of  him  is 
of  value. 

Most  people  think  Captain  Kidd  was  a  pirate,  that  he  was  tried  on  that 

58 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEIV     YORK.  59 

charge,  found  guilty  and  was  hanged.  So  he  was — tried  and  hanged — but 
his  guilt  was  not  proved,  according  to  modern  historians  who  have  delved 
for  the  information  in  the  old  manuscripts  of  this  country  and  England. 
Plainly,  Kidd  was  sacrificed  that  the  reputation  of  those  "higher  up"  should 
remain  outwardly  unsullied.  England  was  disturbed  in  1695  because  of  the 
increase  of  piracy.  The  King,  William  III,  supposing  the  pirates  were  sup- 
ported by  persons  in  the  colonies,  and  especially  in  New  York,  selected  the 
Governor  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  to  operate 
against  them.  Bellamont,  according  to  the  records,  "v/as  very  grasping." 
The  English  Government  in  1695  was  deeply  involved  in  war  with  France, 
and  could  not  afford  the  money  to  equip  an  expedition  to  suppress  piracy,  so 
that  under  her  warrant  Bellamont  and  one  Robert  Livingston,  of  New 
York,  planned  to  send  out  a  private  expedition,  with  Kidd,  who  at  the  time 
owned  a  house  and  lot  in  what  is  now  Hanover  Square,  in  command. 

Kidd  had  served  with  distinction  in  the  war  against  the  French,  "was 
of  good  repute  and  an  experienced  Captain."  On  October  10,  1695,  the  King 
having  sanctioned  the  plan,  Bellamont  entered  into  an  agreement  with  Kidd 
to  procure  from  the  King  and  the  Admiralty  Commissioners  the  proper  au- 
thority for  him  to  fight  the  pirates,  Bellamont  to  furnish  four-fifths  of  the 
cost  of  equipping  the  expedition,  the  other  fifth  to  be  furnished  by  Kidd  and 
Livingston. 

Kidd  agreed  to  enlist  the  men  he  required  on  the  understanding  that 
the  prizes  were  to  be  their  compensation.  Many  officers  of  the  crown,  mem- 
bers of  the  Whig  party,  were  Bellamont's  contributors^  The  commissions 
granted  to  Kidd  bear  the  dates  December  10,  1695,  and  January  26,  1695- 
'96.  The  first  gave  him  power  to  act  against  the  French,  and  the  second  to 
apprehend  and  seize  all  pirates.  When  he  sailed  from  Plymouth,  England, 
for  New  York  in  1696  his  crew  was  composed  of  the  most  desperate,  un- 
stable men.  Indeed,  Governor  Fletcher,  writing  in  October,  1696,  to  the 
Lords  of  Trade  in  England,  said:  "One  Captain  Kidd  lately  arrived  here, 
and  produced  a  commission  under  the  Great  Seal  of  England  for  suppressing 
piracy.  .  .  .  Many  flocked  to  him  from  all  parts,  men  of  desperate  fortunes 
and  necessitous.  .  .  .  'Twill  not  be  in  Kidd's  power  to  govern  such  a 
hord  of  men  under  no  pay."  To  keep  the  record  of  Kidd's  position  straight, 
it  may  be  said  that  part  of  the  first  crew  shipped  by  him  in  Plymouth  Har- 
bor was  composed  of  able  seamen  who  had  families  in  England,  but  who 
were  impressed  into  the  King's  service  before  he  left  for  New  York,  so  that, 
with  his  expedition  half  equipped  with  unstable  and  desperate  men,  he 
oailed  for  this  country,  hoping  on  his  arrival  to  secure  full  complement, 
which  he  did,  but  the  men  were  the  offscouring  of  the  colonies,  allured  by 
the  desire  for  gold  principally. 

Kidd  sailed  for  the  Strait  of  Madagascar  shortly  after  arriving  at  New 
York,  and  from  that  time,  in  July,  1696,  until  September  of  the  year  fol- 
lowing his  acts  of  piracy  consisted  in  the  boarding  of  small  Arabian 
coasters  "and  taking  therefrom  coffee,  sugar,  pepper  and  myrrh." 

Kidd's  agreement  with  Bellamont  was  to  take  his  prizes  to  Boston  for 
condemnation,  without  touching  at  any  other  port,  and  when  he  captured, 
on  November  27,  1697,  a  Moorish  ship,  which  he  was  justified  in  doing 
under  his  commission,  as  he  claimed  she  was  sailing  under  French  papers. 


6o  *      CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

his  cFew  refused  to  sail  to  Boston,  and  what  articles  of  value  were  taken 
were  sold  along  the  coast.  When  the  Quedagh  was  captured,  in  January, 
1698,  his  crew  again  refused  to  go  to  Boston.  This  vessel  was  also  sailing 
under  French  papers,  and  had  a  valuable  cargo,  part  of  which  was  taken 
by  the  crew  and  sold  In  various  places  on  the  coast  of  India.  The  money 
which  they  received  they  divided  among  themselves,  after  which  they 
abandoned  the  expedition,  "to  the  number  of  one  hundred,"  taking  their 
gains  with  them. 

\Vhile  the  above  was  taking  place  Kidd's  distinguished  backers  were 
in  trouble  in  England,  as  the  result  of  reports  of  his  "dastardly  work," 
which  were  used  by  the  anti-government  party  to  force  an  issue.  Seeing 
that  the  political  walls  were  about  to  fall  on  them,  his  supporters  in  the 
scheme  to  enrich  themselves  forced  the  Government,  on  December  16,  1698, 
to  issue  a  proclamaiion  offering  pardon  to  those  guilty  of  piracy  who 
should  surrender  themselves  before  commissioners  to  be  named  for  the 
purpose,  but  excluding  Captain  Kidd  from  such  pardon.  Kidd,  no  doubt, 
heard  of  the  proclamation,  for  early  in  1699  he  arrived  at  New  York  on  a 
small  coasting  schooner,  having  left  the  captured  Quedagh  somewhere  in 
the  West  Indies,  under  a  small  guard,  and  opened  communication  with 
Lord  Bellamont  in  Boston.  In  this  he  offered  to  turn  over  the  Quedagh 
and  whatever  remained  of  her  cargo,  and  such  money  as  was  in  his  hands 
from  the  sale  mentioned  previously  if  a  pardon  and  indemnity  against  loss 
on  his  bond  were  given  to  him.  To  prove  the  legitimacy  of  his  work  as 
agent  for  Bellamont  he  inclosed  in  his  communication  the  French  papers 
found  in  the  two  ships  taken  by  him. 

The  Whig  administration  was  in  desperate  straits  regarding  Kidd. 
His  mutinous  crew,  one  of  whom  Kidd  in  a  passion  had  killed,  were  scat- 
tered over  the  globe,  with  no  hope  in  the  minds  of  the  Government  of 
being  able  to  punish  them,  while  the  man  they  were  after,  Kidd  himself, 
might  be  the  possessor  of  information  which,  if  made  public,  would  throw 
opprobrium  on  themselves  and  their  speculative  enterprise.  Bellamont  at 
first  agreed  that  Kidd's  actions  were  right,  that  the  enterprise  was  legiti- 
mate, but  political  animosities  ran  high,  and  he  was  compelled  to  order 
his  arrest  and  send  him  to  England,  where  he  remained  in  prison  for  two 
years.  According  to  the  Whig  party,  Kidd  was  guilty  before  he  was  placed 
on  trial — not  of  piracy,  but  of  the  murder  of  William  Moore — on  May  8, 
1701.  No  counsel  was  allowed  him,  and  even  the  judges  shrank  from  the 
performance  of  their  duty  of  trying  the  case.  Everything  was  admitted  as 
testimony  by  them  whether  relevant  or  not,  and  Kidd  was  prohibited  from 
speaking  in  his  own  behalf.  He  was  found  guilty,  and  on  May  20,  1701, 
was  hanged  at  Execution  Dock,  Wapping.  There  is  positive  evidence, 
according  to  the  best  authorities,  that  the  members  of  Kidd's  crew  who 
were  tried  and  condemned  with  him  were  never  executed. 

Once  more  to  our  legitimate  chronology:  The  New  York  Hospital 
was  founded  in  1769  by  private  subscription,  and  incorporated  by  charter 
from  Governor  Dunmore  on  July  13,  1776.  This  charter  was  confirmed  by 
an  act  of  the  Legislature  dated  March  9,  1810.  In  177.5  the  hospital  was 
burned  down  by  accident,  and  before  another  could  be  completed  the  war 
broke  out,  during  which  the  British  converted  the  unfinished   apartment 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  6l 

into  barracks.  In  1791  it  was  reopened  as  a  liospital  for  the  sick  and  dis- 
abled, and  afterward  opened  to  inlirm  and  friendless  seamen.  As  the 
demands  on  the  hospital  increased  the  private  subscriptions  were  found  to 
be  inadequate  to  pay  the  expenses.  The  Legislature  was  induced  at  vari- 
ous periods  to  confer  grants  upon  it,  and  these  were  increased  from  time  to 
time  until  March  14,  1806,  when  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  payment 
of  $12,500  a  year  out  of  the  duties  on  public  auctions  till  the  year  1857. 

The  hospital  stood  in  the  center  of  a  plot  of  ground  bounded  by  Broad- 
way, Church  street,  Anthony  street  and  Duane  street.  Fronting  and 
sloping  toward  Broadway  was  an  extensive  lawn,  with  many  venerable 
elms.  From  the  cupola  surmounting  its  three  stories,  says  the  record,  "an 
extensive  panoramic  view  of  the  entire  city  and  of  the  harbor  and  country 
beyond  to  a  great  distance  may  be  had.  It  is  one  of  the  most  healthy  places 
in  the  city,  is  quite  distant  from  the  limits  of  the  populous  parts,  and, 
though  there  are  a  number  of  lofty  houses  in  its  neighborhood,  the  elevation 
of  the  building  secures  to  the  sick  all  the  advantages  of  a  free  circulation." 
This  was  the  beginning  of  the  present  hospital  system. 

The  Fourth,  or  North,  Church  was  built  in  William  street,  between 
Fulton  and  Ann,  this  year.  "It  was  of  stone,  with  a  handsome  and  lofty 
spire,  about  two  hundred  feet  in  height,  in  which  is  a  gallery  that  com- 
mands one  of  the  finest  views  in  the  city."  How  much  of  the  city  could  be 
seen  from  this  point  now? 

In  the  year  1770,  on  April  12,  the  Marine  Society  was  incorporated, 
and  its  funds  limited  to  i3,000  a  year.  Its  immediate  objects  were  the  im- 
provement of  maritime  knowledge  and  the  relief  of  indigent  masters  of 
vessels,  their  widows  and  orphans.  It  is  a  noted  society  in  New  York  to-day. 

"February  2. — The  citizens,  animated  with  the  spirit  of  liberty,  noti- 
fied the  Common  Council  that  they  were  determined  to  erect  a  liberty  pole 
opposite  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  Chatham  street,  but  the  corporation  refused 
the  spot,  and  it  was  erected  on  private  ground  near."  The  "cost  of  lamps, 
lighting  the  city,  etc.,  was  £760  a  year  in  1770,"  as  per  report  of  April  10. 

On  May  17  of  this  year  "a  statue  of  his  majesty  King  George  III, 
ordered  to  be  erected  in  the  bowling  green,  and  a  statue  of  William  Pitt, 
Earl  of  Chatham,  erected  in  Wall  street,  at  the  intersection  of  William 
street."  The  history  of  the  statue  first  mentioned  is  familiar  to  every 
schoolboy,  but  that  of  the  second  is  not  so  well  known.  This  statue  was 
erected  by  the  people  of  New  York  on  the  steps  of  what  was  then  known 
as  the  Royal  Exchange,  in  gratitude  for  the  services  of  William  Pitt. 

When  the  statue  of  King  George  was  destroyed  by  the  citizens,  the 
British  soldiers,  in  revenge,  pulled  the  Pitt  statue  down  and  broke  off  the 
head  and  one  arm.  It  lay  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  among  the  rubbish  in 
the  yard  of  the  corporation,  when  it  was  discovered  by  the  owner  of  a  noted 
resort  on  the  corner  of  West  Broadway  and  Franklin  street,  known  as 
Riley's  Fifth  Ward  Museum  Hotel.  He  erected  it,  sans  head,  sans  arm,  out- 
side of  his  place,  and  surrounded  it  with  an  iron  railing.  There  the  relic 
of  the  past  stood  until  Riley's  death,  when  the  New  York  Historical  Society 
secured  it,  and  now  has  it  in  its  collection. 

"The  Council,  who  for  some  time  past  opened  their  sittings  to  the 
public,  now  closed  them  again  on  the  citizens." 


CHAPTER    Xm. 


(1769-1776.) 


Landmarks  of  Old  New  York — Circular  to  the  Betrayed  Inhabitants  of  the 
City  and  Colony  of  New  York— Battle  of  Golden  Hill- 
First  Record  of  a  Boycott. 

As  an  introduction  to  this  chapter's  part  of  the  chronology  here  are 
twenty-six  interesting  landmarks  of  old  New  York  for  the  guidance  of 
the  home  student  and  the  stranger  visitor: 

(1)  The  site  of  Fort  Amsterdam — where  the  new  Custom  House  now 
stands  on  Bowling  Green.  (2)  The  site  of  the  first  habitations  of  white 
men  on  the  island,  erected  by  Adrian  Block — No.  41  Broadway.  (3)  Stuy- 
vesailt's  *'White  Hall" — No.  73  Pearl  street.  (4)  Stuyvesant's  country  resi- 
dence— Fourteenth  street  to  Sixteenth  street,  Fourth  avenue  to  the  East 
River.  (5)  Stuyvesant's  burial  place — St.  Mark's  Churchyard,  Stuyvesant 
street  and  Second  avenue.  (6)  Stuyvesant's  pear  tree — Formerly  corner 
of  Thirteenth  street  and  Third  avenue.  (7)  First  church  of  the  Huguenots, 
erected  in  1688 — Where  the  Produce  Exchange  stands.  (8)  The  first  house 
of  worship  of  the  Dutch,  erected  in  1693 — Exchange  Place.  (The  baptismal 
bowl  made  for  this  congregation  in  Holland  is  in  the  Collegiate  Church,  at 
Fifth  avenue  and  Twenty-ninth  street.)  (9)  Where  Charlotte  Temple 
ended  her  life — On  the  north  side  of  Pell  street,  west  of  the  Bowery,  in  one 
of  two  houses  painted  yellow.  (10)  William  Bradford's  (the  first  printer) 
shop — No.  51  Pearl  street.  (11)  Second  City  Hall — On  the  site  of  the 
Sub-Treasury.  (12)  Slave  market — Foot  of  Wall  street.  (13)  The  fash- 
ionable promenade  of  the  old  days — The  Mall,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Trinity  Church.  (14)  The  shopping  center  of  the  city  in  1765 — Hanover 
Square.  (15)  Where  New  York's  first  newspaper  was  issued — The  site  of 
the  Cotton  Exchange.  (16)  The  Kennedy  House,  of  historic  association — 
No.  1  Broadway.  (17)  Where  the  non-importation  agreement  in  opposition 
to  the  Stamp  Act  was  signed  in  1765 — No.  115  Broadway.  (18)  Golden 
Hill,  where  the  first  blood  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution  was  shed — John 
street,  near  William.  (19)  Where  the  first  Liberty  Pole  was  erected  to 
commemorate  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act — The  site  of  the  Postoflice  Build- 
ing. (20)  Where  Marinus  Willett  captured  the  arms  of  the  British  sol- 
diers— Broad  and  Beaver  streets.  (21)  Where  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence was  read  and  published — Near  the  west  wing  of  the  present  City 
Hall.  (22)  The  site  of  the  Middle  Dutch  Church,  dedicated  in  1729 — 
Mutual  Life  Building,  Nassau,  Cedar  and  Liberty  streets.  (23)  Where 
General   Washington   landed,   on   his  way  to   Cambridge   to   command   the 

62 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW    YORK.  63 

American  Army — West  street,  near  Laight.  (24)  Points  fortified  against 
attacks  by  the  British — On  the  East  River,  at  Forty-fourth  street.  Fifty-! 
fourth  street.  Seventy-fourth  street,  Eighty-fifth  street,  Eighty-ninth 
street.  Mount  Morris  Parlt,  back  of  Trinity  Church,  Jones's  Hill,  near 
Broome  street;  Bunker  Hill,  Grand  and  Mulberry  streets.  (25)  Where 
Washington  rallied  his  men  against  the  attack  of  Clinton  and  Donop — Park 
avenue  and  Fortieth  street.  (26)  Where  Generals  Washington  and  Putnam 
met  during  the  movement  of  the  American  Army  the  day  before  the  battle 
of  Harlem,  September  16,  1776 — West  side  of  Broadway,  between  Forty- 
third  and  Forty-fourth  streets. 

Events   were  shaping   themselves  for  the   final   outbreak   in    1769,   as 
will   be   seen   by   the   following  extracts  from   a   circular   headed   "To   the 
Betrayed  Inhabitants  of  the  City  and  Colony  of  New  York,"  and  signed  "A 
Son  of  Liberty,"  in  possession  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society: 
"My  Dear  Fellow-Citizens  and  Countrymen: 

"In  a  Day  when  the  Minions  of  Tyranny  and  Despotism  in  the  Mother 
Country,  and  the  Colonies,  are  indefatigable  in  laying  every  Snare  that 
their  malevolent  and  corrupt  Hearts  can  suggest,  to  enslave  a  free  people; 
when  this  unfortunate  Country  has  been  striving  under  many  Disadvan- 
tages for  three  Years  past,  to  preserve  their  Freedom;  .  .  .  when  the 
Merchants  of  this  City  and  the  Capital  towns  on  the  Continent,  have  nobly 
and  cheerfully  sacrificed  their  private  Interests  to  the  publick  Good,  rather 
than  to  promote  the  Designs  of  the  Enemies  of  our  happy  Constitution;  it 
might  justly  be  expected,  that  in  this  day  of  Constitutional  Light,  the  Rep- 
resentatives of  this  Colony,  would  not  be  so  hardy,  nor  so  lost  to  all  sense  of 
Duty  to  their  Constituents  .  .  .  as  to  betray  the  Trust  committed  to 
them  [in  passing  the  vote  to  give  the  troops  £1,000  out  of  the  Treasury  and 
£1,000  out  of  the  money  to  be  put  out  on  loan,  and  which  the  colony  would 
be  obliged  to  make  good].  And  that  they  have  betrayed  the  Liberties  of 
the  People.  ,  .  .  And  what  makes  the  Assembly's  granting  this  Money 
the  more  grievous,  is,  that  it  goes  to  the  Support  of  the  Troops  kept  here, 
not  to  protect,  but  to  enslave  us.  .  .  .  Is  this  a  State  to  be  rested  in 
when  our  all  is  at  Stake?  No,  my  Countrymen,  Rouse!  imitate  the  noble 
Example  of  the  Friends  of  Liberty  In  England,  who  rather  than  be  en- 
slaved contend  for  their  right  with  the  K — g.  Lords  and  Commons.  And 
will  you  suffer  your  Liberties  to  be  torn  from  you  by  your  own  Repre- 
sentatives? Tell  it  not  in  Boston;  publish  it  not  in  the  Streets  of  Charles- 
ton! .  .  .  Assemble  in  the  Fields  on  Monday  next,  where  your  sense 
ought  to  be  taken  on  this  important  Point." 

After  the  meeting  of  the  following  day,  which  disapproved  the  action 
of  the  Assembly,  another  handbill,  signed  "Legion,"  appeared,  which 
"caused  the  Assembly  much  annoyance,  was  declared  libelous,  and  a  reward 
of  il50  was  offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  writer."  Through  information 
given  by  James.  Parker,  a  printer,  in  whose  office  the  printing  was  done, 
and  who  was  threatened  with  the  loss  of  his  place  as  Secretary  of  the  Post- 
office  if  he  did  not  give  the  name  of  the  writer,  Alexander  Macdougal  was 
arrested  and  imprisoned.  New  York  honors  him  by  naming  a  street  for 
him,  and  the  historian  names  him  as  the  first  martyr  to  the  cause  of  liberty. 


64  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

Here  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  sent  to  London  from  New  York  on  January 
22,  1770,  which  tells  of  the  troublous  times  in  the  city: 

"We  are  all  in  Confusion  in  this  City;  the  Soldiers  have  cut  and 
blowed  up  Liberty  Pole,  and  have  caused  much  Trouble  between  the  Inhab- 
itants. On  Friday  last  between  Burling  Slip  and  the  Fly  Market,  was  an 
Engagement  between  the  Inhabitants  and  the  Soldiers,  when  much  Blood 
was  spilt.  One  Sailor  got  run  through  the  Body,  who  since  Died.  One 
man  got  his  Skull  cut  in  the  most  Cruel  Manner.  On  Saturday  the  Hall 
Bell  rang  for  an  Alarm,  when  was  another  Battle  between  the  Inhabitants 
and  Soldiers;  but  the  Soldiers  met  with  Rubbers,  the  Chief  est  part  being 
Sailors  and  Clubs  to  revenge  the  Death  of  their  Brother,  which  they  did 
with  Courage  and  made  them  all  run  to  their  Barracks.  What  will  be  the 
end  of  this  God  knows!" 

The  trouble  referred  to  in  this  letter  culminated  in  the  two  days'  battle 
of  Golden  Hill,  which  has  been  glorified  and  perpetuated  in  history. 

The  Liberty  Boys  were  not  to  be  balked  by  the  action  of  Mayor  Hicks 
and  the  Common  Council  on  January  30,  1770,  in  refusing  them  a  site 
on  which  to  erect  a  fifth  Liberty  Pole;  nor  were  they  at  a  loss  to  find  a 
house  in  which  to  meet  when  the  owner  of  the  property  which  they  had 
previously  used  as  a  headquarters  was  won  over  to  the  opposition.  To  meet 
the  first  emergency,  they  purchased  a  piece  of  ground  near  where  the 
fourth  pole  stood,  and  erected  thereon  what  was  destined  to  be  the  last 
rallying  point  previous  to  the  Revolution.  To  meet  the  second  emergency 
they  purchased  a  house  on  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Ann 
street,  and  christened  it  Hampden  Hall.  They  consecrated  it  to  the  cause 
of  liberty,  and  on  March  19,  1770,  celebrated  the  anniversary  of  the 
colony's  triumph  over  the  exactions  of  the  mother  country. 

Lord  Dunmore  superseded  Colden  as  Governor  on  October  25,  1770. 
His  instructions  from  the  home  government  to  the  colonists,  or  rather  their 
representatives,  were  similar  to  those  of  his  predecessors — "to  continue  in 
welldoing  and  not  to  forget  to  make  due  appropriations  for  the  troops  quar- 
tered among  them."  During  his  reign  the  case  of  Macdougal  was  tried, 
George  Clinton,  future  Governor  of  New  York  and  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  defending  him.  Later  he  was  released  through  the  influence 
of  friends. 

On  July  8,  1771,  William  Tryon  was  appointed  Governor,  Lord  Dun- 
more  having  been  transferred  to  Virginia.  This  new  Governor  was  voted 
an  income  of  £2,000  by  the  complacent  Assembly,  but  refused  it,  saying  he 
was  forbidden  to  receive  any  gifts  from  the  Assembly — a  new  scheme  by 
the  home  government  for  securing  the  submission  of  the  colonies,  as  the 
salary  of  the  Governor  was  to  be  paid  from  his  majesty's  treasury,  and  the 
treasury  to  be  supplied  from  the  colonial  taxes. 

For  the  next  two  years — 1772  and  1773 — complete  stagnation  pre- 
vailed in  New  York.  Few  records  of  public  improvements  are  to  be  found, 
commerce  was  only  partially  resumed,  and  the  use  of  tea  by  the  inhabitants 
was  obsolete.  The  people  thought  only  of  resistance  and  awaited  the. day 
of  deliverance  from  oppression.  Only  one  street — Warren — was  laid  out 
and  regulated  in  1771,  and  an  "iron  railing  made  round  the  Bowling  Green 
for  £800."     Murray  street  was  regulated  the  following  year. 


CRADLE    DAYS    OP    NEW    YORK.  65 

Much  has  been  written  of  the  Boston  Tea  Party.  New  York  also  had  a 
Tea  Party  in  1773.  In  order  to  entrap  the  colonists  and  unguardedly  gain 
their  assent  to  the  principle  of  Parliamentary  taxation,  the  home  Ministry 
passed  a  law  permitting  the  East  India  Company  to  export  tea  to  the 
colonies  free  of  the  duty  which  before  had  been  paid  in  England,  but  re- 
taining the  duty  which  was  paid  in  America.  This,  of  course,  reduced  the 
price  of  tea  to  the  colonists.  The  bill  was  declared  obnoxious,  and  meas- 
ures were  decided  on  to  prevent  the  landing  of  the  large  shipments  ordered 
to  America.  England  was  alarmed,  especially  as  her  Tea  Commissions  in 
New  York  had  resigned  their  commissions.  Strong  resolutions  were  passed 
on  November  27,  1773,  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  condemnatory  of  the  Revenue 
Act  relating  to  tea,  and  pledging  fealty  to  one  another  in  the  maintaining 
of  a  strict  quarantine  against  its  introduction  in  the  colony:  "Resolved, 
That,  whether  the  duties  imposed  by  this  act  be  paid  in  Great  Britain  or 
in  America,  our  liberties  are  equally  affected." 

Here  is  the  first  record  of  a  boycott: 

"Resolved,  That  whoever  shall  transgress  any  of  these  resolutions,  we 
will  not  deal  with  or  employ,  or  have  any  connection  with  him." 

Such  was  the  spirit  of  the  colonists.  The  date  of  arrival  of  the  vessel 
bearing  the  tea  was  uncertain,  but  the  patriots  did  not  relax  their  vigilance, 
now  and  then,  through  their  committees  of  correspondence,  receiving  word 
of  her  being  delayed  by  contrary  winds.  During  the  excitement  Governor 
Tryon  sailed  for  England,  and  again  the  Government  was  in  the  hands  of 
Golden. 

On  April  22,  1774,  the  ship  London,  commanded  by  Captain  Chambers, 
a  New  Yorker,  appeared  off  Sandy  Hook,  and  was  boarded  by  members  of 
the  Vigilance  Committee.  They  were  assured  that  no  tea  was  on  board, 
and  no  mention  of  it  was  found  on  the  ship's  manifest.  The  vessel  was 
allowed  to  go  to  her  dock,  "where  there  was  a  scene  of  intense  excitement." 
Another  visit  to  the  vessel  was  made  by  the  whole  committee,  and,  though 
the  captain  declared  that  no  packages  of  tea  were  aboard,  the  committee 
decided  on  a  thorough  search,  with  the  result  that  eighteen  chests  were 
discovered,  which  they  confiscated.  Taking  the  captain  and  the  owners 
with  them  to  the  Coffee  House,  on  the  corner  of  Pearl  and  Wall  streets, 
the  committee  called  a  meeting  and  decided  to  throw  the  tea  into  the 
river,  which  they  did  "at  8  in  the  evening."  "The  next  day  the  city  was 
in  festal  attire.  Bells  were  rung,  flags  were  hoisted  and  bands  played 
'God  Save  the  King.'  "  Captain  Chambers  was  escorted  three  leagues  out- 
side of  Sandy  Hook  and  permitted  to  proceed.  And  this  was  New  York's 
Tea  Party  four  months  after  the  Boston  episode. 

The  attempted  punishment  of  the  people  for  disobedience  by  King 
George  cemented  the  bond  of  brotherhood,  and  on  the  evening  of  July 
6  the  "great  meeting  in  the  fields"  took  place  on  the  Commons — Alexander 
Hamilton  making  his  maiden  speech  at  it — to  ratify  the  action  of  the 
famous  Committee  of  Fifty-one,  and  to  elect  deputies  to  the  second  Colonial 
Congress  at  Philadelphia.  While  the  Committee  of  Fifty-one  disavowed 
the  proceedings  of  the  "meeting  in  the  fields"  the  following  day,  eleven 
of  the  members.  Sons  of  Liberty,  "seceded  and  issued  an  address  to  the 
people."  ~  Polls  were  opened  under  the  direction  of  the  Mayor  and  alder- 


66  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

men  for  the  election  of  delegates,  all  who  were  taxpayers  being  allowed  to 
vote.  The  representatives  elected  early  In  September  assembled  with  those 
from  the  other  colonies  in  Philadelphia.  What  they  did  the  historians 
have  noted. 

"Feb.  22.  Fire  in  the  fort.  Governor  Tryon  lost  his  papers,  furniture, 
&c.,  and  the  corporation  addressed  him  a  letter  of  condolence;  he  soon  after 
went  to  England."  About  this  time  the  names  of  the  Common  Council 
began  to  be  entered  on  the  minutes  when  voting  on  important  questions, 
pro  and  con. 

"April  22.  Christopher  Colles  proposed  to  erect  a  reservoir,  and  to 
convey  water  through  the  several  streets.  Read  and  referred."  On  this 
date  "the  street  leading  from  St.  Paul's  Church  toward  fresh  water  was 
named  Chatham  street." 

The  year  1775  saw  constant  excitement  and  restlessness  in  the  colony. 
On  March  5  "a  battle  took  place  in  the  city  between  the  whigs  and  tories; 
the  latter  defeated,"  and  on  April  3  the  Assembly  adjourned,  never  to 
meet  again.  According  to  a  resolution  passed  at  the  Philadelphia  session, 
each  colony  was  to  organize  companies  of  militia,  and  New  York  formed  a 
corps  called  the  Hearts  of  Oak.  By  orders  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  they 
were  to  remove  the  cannons  from  the  Battery,  and  while  doing  so  the 
seventy-four  gun  ship  Asia,  which  was  anchored  off  the  fort,  with  her 
guns  trained  on  the  town,  sent  a  broadside  into  them,  as  answer  to  a  shot 
unthinkingly  fired  by  one  of  the  party,  and  killed  a  young  militiaman. 

On  April  24,  1775,  a  travel-stained  horseman  rode  furiously  into  the 
city,  and  spread  the  news  of  the  battle  that  changed  the  aspect  of  the 
Western  world — the  battle  of  Lexington.  It  required  but  little  time  for 
the  Sons  of  Liberty  on  that  peaceful  Sunday  to  take  possession  of  the  City 
Hall,  distribute  the  arms  stored  therein  and  in  the  arsenal  among  the 
citizens  and  form  a  voluntary  corps  "under  the  command  of  Samuel 
Broome."  "They  demanded  and  obtained  the  key  to  the  Custom  House, 
closed  the  building  and  laid  an  embargo  upon  the  vessels  in  port  destined 
for  the  eastern  colonies."  A  provisional  government  for  the  city  was 
formed  on  May  5  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  Coffee  House,  "and  the  people 
pledged  themselves  to  obey  its  orders  until  different  arrangements  should 
be  made  by  the  Continental  Congress." 

All  was  not  plain  sailing  after  the  appointment  of  the  Committee  of 
One  Hundred  at  the  meeting  in  the  Coffee  House.  Some  of  the  committee 
were  inclined  to  the  Royalist  side  and  created  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the 
patriots.  Excitement  ran  high,  however,  and  in  a  short  time  those  who 
had  been  considered  doubtful  acquiesced  in  the  action  of  their  colleagues. 
"Everything  wore  a  martial  appearance  in  the  city.  The  stores  and  work- 
shops were  closed  and  armed  citizens  paraded  the  streets.  Precautions  were 
taken,  however,  to  put  arms  in  a  serviceable  condition  and  to  survey  for 
fortifications."  Curiously  enough,  no  opposition  was  made  to  the  landing 
of  British  troops,  the  Continental  Congress  granting  permission,  but  ob- 
jecting strenuously  to  the  erection  of  fortifications.  It  was  on  June  6,  1775, 
that  the  Marinus  Willett  episode  occurred,  the  designation  of  the  spot 
being  given  in  the  introduction  to  this  chapter. 

"June  24.     Governor  Tryon  arrived  in  New  York,"  and  the  next  day 


CRADLE    DAYS     Oh     NEW     YORK.  67 

"Washington  entered  New  York  on  his  way  from  Mount  Vernon  to  Cam- 
bridge. While  the  Provincial  Congress  received  him  with  a  cautious  ad- 
dress, they  still  clung  to  the  shadow  of  loyalty,  constantly  protesting  that 
they  desired  nothing  more  than  to  secure  to  themselves  the  rights  of  true 
born  British  subjects." 

The  change  in  the  disposition  of  the  citizens  aroused  Governor  Tryon, 
"who,  while  treated  with  respect,  found  them  in  a  state  of  open  rebellion, 
with  only  the  semblance  of  loyalty  and  disposed  to  yield  more  obedience  to 
the  Provincial  Congress  than  to  him." 

"Aug.  22.  The  Asia,  British  man-of-war,  fired  upon  the  city  in  the 
night,  and  threw  the  inhabitants  into  the  utmost  alarm  and  dismay." 
This  bombardment  was  occasioned  by  a  party  of  Liberty  Boys,  among 
whom  was  Alexander  Hamilton,  executing  an  order  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress to  remove  the  guns  on  the  Battery  because  of  their  danger  to  the 
patriot  cause.  A  barge  of  the  Asia,  reconnoitering,  fired  on  the  patriots. 
The  fire  was  returned,  killing  one  of  the  crew,  when  the  barge  made  its  way 
to  the  ship,  which  proceeded  to  cannonade  the  town,  "riddling  the  houses 
near  the  Battery  and  severely  wounding  three  citizens.  Great  excitement 
existed,  the  drums  beat  to  arms  and  many  of  the  people  fled."  In  the  face 
of  the  fire  of  the  Asia  the  Liberty  Boys  continued  their  task  until  they 
had  carried  away  the  last  of  the  twenty-one  pieces  from  the  Battery.  On 
April  14,  1776,  Washington  arrived  from  Boston,  and  took  up  his  quar- 
ters at  Richmond  Hill,  on  the  corner  of  Varick  and  Charlton  streets,  an 
interesting  description  of  which  from  old  writings  is  given  in  the  next 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


(1776-1780.) 


Richmond  Hill— Tom  Paine's  "Common  Sense"— Death  of  Tom  Paine— 

Great  Fire  of  1776— First  Written  Constitution  of  New  York 

Framed  at  Princeton — Intense  Cold  in  1779. 

Fronting  the  Hudson,  with  nothing  to  obstruct  the  view,  stood  in  1776 
Richmond  Hill,  the  residence  of  Washington  from  the  time  of  his  return 
from  Boston  after  the  expulsion  of  the  British  troops  until  he  retreated 
from  the  city  and  fixed  his  quarters  at  the  house  of  Robert  Murray,  on 
Murray  Hill.  •  From  the  latter  place  he  issued  his  instructious  to  Nathan 
Hale  regarding  the  information  to  be  obtained  by  him  when  he  penetrated 
the  British  lines  on  Long  Island.  Richmond  Hill  had  been  built  by  Major 
Martier,  an  English  officer,  in  1766,  on  what  is  now  Charlton  street,  a  few 
feet  from  Varick.  At  that  time  "meadows  stretched  up  toward  the  little 
hamlet  of  Greenwich  Village,  and  on  the  left  the  view  of  the  little  city  in 
the  distance  was  half  hidden  by  clumps  of  trees  and  rising  hills.  There 
was  a  broad  entrance  to  the  house,  under  a  porch  of  imposing  height  sup- 
ported by  high  columns,  with  balconies  fronting  the  rooms  of  the  second 
story.  The  premises  were  entered  by  a  spacious  gateway,  flanked  by  orna- 
mental columns,  at  what  is  now  the  termination  of  Macdougal  street. 
Within  the  gate  and  to  the  north  was  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  known 
as  Burr's  pond." 

The  glory  of  Richmond  Hill  lasted  for  many  years  after  Washington 
occupied  it.  It  was  the  home  of  Vice-President  Adams  during  the  first 
year  of  the  Constitutional  government,  and  men  and  women  eminent  in  the 
Old  World  were  guests  within  its  walls  during  its  occupancy  by  Aaron  Burr, 
"whose  daughter,  Theodosia,  dispensed  a  charming  hospitality."  After  her 
disappearance  and  his  own  fall  from  prominence  prior  to  1808  Richmond 
Hill's  glory  departed,  and  from  a  first  class  theatre  it  passed  through  the 
gradations  of  circus  and  menagerie,  and  was  finally  abandoned.  It  is  now 
the  site  of  a  private  residence. 

The  idea  of  independence  was  fast  gaining  ground  among  the  people 
in  1776,  and  arguments  poised  on  the  lips  of  many,  and,  through  lack  of 
courage,  not  uttered,  were  fearlessly  projected  after  the  appearance  of 
Thomas  Paine's  "Common  Sense,"  published  in  Philadelphia.  Through  it 
the  whole  nation  was  electrified  with  the  spirit  of  independence  and  liberty, 
and  the  link  binding  the  colonies  to  the  mother  country  was  severed.  So 
cogent  was  the  reasoning  of  Paine  that  his  conclusions  were  accepted,  and 
on  June  7,  1776,  Richard  Henry  Lee  introduced  in  Congress  the  resolution 
absolving  the  colonies  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown  and  severing 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  69 

their  political  connection  with  it.  New  York's  delegates  to  the  Congress 
had  been  uninstructed  how  to  proceed  when  this  question  arose,  and,  "fear- 
ing a  traitor's  doom,  they  drew  back  shrinkingly  from  the  perilous  step." 

Thomas  Paine  died  in  1809,  in  the  house  now  numbered  59  Bleecker 
street.  Bleecker  street  at  the  period  mentioned  was  a  road  leading  from 
Minetta  Brook  to  Greenwich  Village,  and  the  house  of  Mme.  Bonneville,  in 
which  Paine  lived  and  died,  stood  near  what  is  now  Grove  street. 

"September  21,  1776.  A  great  fire  commenced  in  a  small  wooden 
house  on  the  wharf  near  the  Whitehall  Slip.  It  was  then  occupied  by  a 
number  of  men  and  women  of  a  bad  character.  The  fire  began  late  at 
night.  There  being  but  a  very  few  inhabitants  in  the  city,  in  a  short 
time  it  raged  tremendously.  It  burned  all  the  houses  on  the  east  side  of 
Whitehall  Slip  and  the  west  side  of  Broad  street  to  Beaver  street.  A  provi- 
dential and  happy  circumstance  occurred  at  this  time:  the  wind  was  then 
southwesterly.  About  2  o'clock  that  morning  the  wind  veered  to  the 
southeast.  '^  This  carried  the  flames  of  the  fire  to  the  north-westward,  and 
burned  both  sides  of  Beaver  street  to  the  east  side  of  Broadway,  then  crossed 
Broadway  to  Beaver  Lane,  and  burning  all  the  houses  on  both  sides  of 
Broadway,  with  some  few  houses  in  New  street  to  Rector  street,  and  to 
John  Harrison,  Esq.'s,  three-story  brick  house,  which  house  stopped  the 
fire  on  the  east  side  of  Broadway;  from  thence  it  continued,  burning  all  the 
houses  in  Lumber  street  and  those  in  the  rear  of  the  houses  on  the  west 
side  of  Broadway  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  then  continued  burning  the  houses 
on  both  sides  of  Partition  street  and  all  the  houses  in  the  rear  (again) 
of  the  west  side  of  Broadway  to  North  River.  The  fire  did  not  stop  until 
it  got  into  Mortkile  (now  Barclay)  street.  The  college  yard  and  the 
vacant  ground  in  the  rear  of  the  same  put  an  end  to  this  awful  and  tre- 
mendous fire. 

"Trinity  Church  being  burned  was  occasioned  by  the  flakes  of  fire 
that  fell  on  the  south  side  of  the  roof.  The  southerly  wind  fanned  those 
flakes  of  fire  in  a  short  time  to  an  amazing  blaze,  and  it  soon  became  out 
of  human  power  to  extinguish  the  same,  the  roof  of  this  noble  edifice  being 
so  steep  that  no  person  could  go  on  it. 

"St.  Paul's  Church  was  in  the  like  perilous  situation.  The  roof  being 
flat,  with  a  balustrade  on  the  eaves,  a  number  of  the  citizens  went  on  the 
same  and  extinguished  the  flakes  of  fire  as  they  fell  on  the  roof.  Thus 
happily  was  this  beautiful  church  saved  from  the  destruction  of  this  dreadful 
fire,  which  threatened  the  ruin  thereof  and  that  of  the  whole  city. 

"The  Lutheran  Church  being  contiguous  to  houses  adjoining  the  same 
fire,  it  was  impossible  to  save  it  from  destruction.  This  fire  was  so  furious 
and  violently  hot  that  no  person  could  go  near  it,  and  there  were  no  fire 
engines  to  be  had  at  that  time  in  the  city. 

"The  number  of  houses  that  were  burned  and  destroyed  in  this  city  at 
that  awful  conflagration  were  thus,  viz.: 

From  Mortkile  street  to  Courtlandt  street ''Vl67 

From  Courtlandt  street  to  Beaver  street '   175 

From  Beaver  street  to  the  East  River -  151 

Total 493 


70  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

"There  being  very  few  inhabitants  in  the  city  at  the  time,  and  many 
of  those  were  afraid  to  venture  at  night  in  the  streets,  for  fear  of  being 
talven  up  as  suspicious  persons. 

"A  Mr.  White,  a  decent  citizen  and  house  carpenter,  rather  too  violent 
a  loyalist,  and  latterly  had  addicted  himself  to  liquor,  was  on  the  night 
of  the  fire  hanged  on  a  tavern  signpost,  at  the  corner  of  Cherry  and  Roose- 
velt streets.  Several  of  the  citizens  were  sent  to  the  provost  guard  for 
examination,  and  some  of  them  remained  there  two  or  three  days,  until 
they  could  give  satisfactory  evidence  of  their  loyalty. 

"Mr.  Hugh  Gain,  in  his  'Universal  Register'  for  the  year  1787,  page  119, 
says:  'New  York  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length  and  half  a  mile 
broad,  containing  before  the  fires  on  the  21st  of  September,  1776,  and  3d  of 
August,  1778,  about  4,200  houses  and  30,000  inhabitants.'  " 

The  Sons  of  Liberty  were  accused  by  the  British  of  being  the  incen- 
diaries, and  a  number  of  them  were  thrust  into  the  flames  in  revenge  for 
the  supposed  outrage.  Several  citizens  were  also  arrested  and  imprisoned, 
but  the  charge  of  being  accessories  was  not  sustained,  and  they  were 
released.  So  great  was  the  distress  among  the  inhabitants  "that  they  tacked 
sheets  of  canvas  to  the  remnants  of  charred  walls  and  standing  chimneys, 
thus  forming  a  city  of  tents,  in  which  they  bivouacked." 

This  fire  occurred  at  the  time  when  Howe's  troops  were  stretched 
iu  a  cordon  across  the  island,  in  readiness  to  fall  upon  the  army  of 
Washington,  encamped  upon  the  heights  on  the  opposite  side  of  Harlem 
Plains,  Washington  occupying  as  headquarters  the  Roger  Morris 
house,  which  overlooks  the  Harlem  a  little  below  High  Bridge,  and  is  now 
known  as  the  Jumel  Mansion.  The  loyalist  owner  of  the  property.  Colonel 
Morris,  had  married  the  beautiful  Mary  Phillipse,  whom  Washington  at  one 
time  wooed  in  vain.  In  this  house  battles  were  planned,  consultations  were 
held  with  chiefs  of  the  Indian  tribes,  "and  secret  instructions  were  issued 
to  the  'spy  of  the  neutral  ground.'  After  the  Revolution  the  estate  was 
confiscated,  and  was  then  purchased  by  John  Jacob  Astor,  who  sold  it 
to  Stephen  Jumel.  After  Jumel's  death  his  widow  married  Aaron  Burr, 
but  he  left  her  shortly  after,  and  sought  seclusion  on  Staten  Island.  Upon 
the  keystone  of  an  arch  in  the  main  hall  is  the  date  1758,  and  from  its 
piazza  may  be  seen  the  lower  city,  Brooklyn  Bridge,  seven  counties  in  two 
different  States,  three  rivers  and  Long  Island  Sound.  While  at  the  Morris 
house  Washington  became  acquainted  with  Captain  Alexander  Hamilton 
through  General  Greene,  and  established  the  friendship  which  linked  their 
lives  and  fame  together."  New  York  City  took  title  to  this  property  in 
1903  from  the  widow  of  General  Ferdinand  P.  Earle,  the  consideration 
being  3235,000. 

Cadwallader  Golden,  who  had  for  so  many  years  played  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  affairs  of  the  city,  died  in  1776,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
nine.  The  historian  says  of  Golden:  "While  a  man  of  pre-eminent  talent 
and  of  scientific  attainments,  and  loved  and  honored  by  the  people,  he  was 
ensnared  to  play  a  part  in  the  Revolution  which  placed  an  indelible  stain 
on  his  character,  and  caused  him  to  sacrifice  the  welfare  of  his  country  to 
the  arbitrary  maintenance  of  the  royal  prerogative." 

During  the  latter  part  of  1776  "many  Tories,  who  had  been  expelled 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  71 

iiom  the  surrounding  country  by  the  vigorous  measures  of  the  Committee 
of  Safety,  now  returned  to  New  York."  "The  Royal  Gazette"  recommenced 
publication,  while  the  owner  of  the  organ  of  the  Liberty  party  was  driven 
from  place  to  place  along  the  North  River.  General  Howe  was  in  the 
saddle,  the  protector  of  the  Tories  and  the  oppressor  of  the  lovers  of  liberty. 
Foremost  among  the  Tories  was  Oliver  De  Lancey,  brother  of  the  former 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  province.  He  was  haughty  and  imperious  in 
manners,  and  possessed  an  almost  diabolical  knowledge  of  human  nature. 
So  disliked  was  he  that  on  the  night  of  November  25,  1777,  a  party  of  Lib- 
erty Boys  burned  his  house  at  Bloomingdale,  by  way  of  revenge  for  his 
infidelity  to  his  country.  His  estates,  as  well  as  those  of  James  De  Lancey, 
his  nephew,  were  confiscated  by  the  government  after  the  Revolution. 

In  April  of  the  year  mentioned  above  the  first  written  constitution  of 
the  State  of  New  York  was  framed  at  Kingston.  With  few  changes,  we  are 
governed  by  it  to-day.  George  Clinton,  patriot  and  statesman,  as  first  Gov- 
ernor, held  the  office  for  eighteen  years. 

"A  French  fleet,  consisting  of  12  ships  of  the  line  and  some  frigates, 
with  6,000  troops  on  board,  arrived  off  Sandy  Hook,  but  declined  an  engage- 
ment with  the  British  fleet,  and  repaired  to  Newport."  This  expedition  was 
projected  by  the  French  Government  through  the  efforts  and  eloquence  of 
Franklin,  Deane  and  Arthur  Lee,  commissioners  dispatched  to  the  European 
courts  by  the  colonies  to  ask  their  sympathy  and  aid.  It  was  the  intention 
of  the  commander  of  the  French  fleet.  Count  d'Estaing,  to  attack  the  city 
by  water,  while  Washington  was  making  a  simultaneous  attack  by  land. 
The  pilots  refused  to  take  the  French  ships  over  the  bar,  and  the  assault  was 
abandoned. 

The  year  1777  is  also  memorable  for  the  action  of  Pitt,  the  former  idol 
of  America,  in  whose  honor  the  colonists  had  kindled  bonfires  and  erected 
statues.  When  the  strife  was  going  on  in  Parliament  against  acknowledg- 
ing the  Independence  of  America,  Lord  Rockingham  urging  the  ministry 
to  abandon  the  struggle,  Pitt  rose  in  his  seat  and  spoke  against  it  with  so 
much  vehemence  that  he  became  exhausted  and  sank  fainting  to  the  floor. 
He  was  carried  out  of  Parliament  for  the  last  time,  though  his  words 
prevailed,  and  the  war  against  the  colonies  was  renewed  with  vigor,  Howe 
being  recalled  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  filling  his  place. 

"1778. — The  winters  of  this  and  the  following  year  were  extremely 
mild."  On  August  3  of  this  year  "another  great  fire  happened  on  Cruger's 
wharf,  in  which  there  were  about  50  houses  consumed.  The  cause  of 
many  houses  being  burned  at  this  time  was  the  military  ofllicers  taking  the 
ordering  and  directing  of  the  fire  from  the  firemen.  The  citizens  com- 
plained thereof  to  the  commander-in-chief,  who  immediately  gave  out,  in 
general  orders,  that  in  future  no  military  man  should  interfere  with  any 
fire  that  may  happen  in  the  city,  but  leave  the  extinguishing  thereof  to 
the  entire  directions  of  the  firemen  and  inhabitants.  The  military  should 
place  sentries  over  the  goods  that  were  saved  from  the  fire."  The  fire 
commenced  in  Dock  street,  now  Pearl,  in  the  vicinity  of  Broad  street.  The 
fire  companies  had  been  disbanded  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  and 
the  military  charged  themselves  with  extinguishing  it,  with  the  result 
noted   in   the   old   manuscript.      "Scarcely   had   the   flames   been    quenched 


72  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

when  a  new  calamity  occurred — the  explosion  of  the  powder  ship  Morning 
Star,  which  was  anchored  in  the  East  River,  during  a  violent  thunderstorm. 
Houses  along  the  shore  were  unroofed  by  the  shock,  windows  were  shat- 
tered and  furniture  demolished.  A  boy  who  had  been  left  in  charge  while 
the  crew  were  ashore  perished." 

The  end  of  the  winter  of  1779  and  all  of  the  winter  of  1780  saw  much 
suffering  in  old  New  York  from  the  intense  cold.  "It  exceeded  in  severity 
anything  that  had  ever  been  dreamed  of,"  says  the  old  manuscript.  "Wood 
was  not  to  be  had  at  any  price,  and  many  families  would  split  up  their 
chairs  and  tables  to  cook  their  breakfast,  then  go  to  bed  for  the  rest  of 
the  day  to  keep  warm.  The  rivers  about  the  city  were  transformed  into 
a  solid  bridge  of  ice  for  forty  days.  Eighty  cannon  were  dragged  across 
to  Staten  Island  from  the  foot  of  Rector  street  to  repel  the  expected  attack 
of  Lord  Stirling." 

"1780. — May  19.  A  celebrated  and  fearful  darkness  commenced  in  the 
atmosphere  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  which  lasted  for  several  hours." 
A  coffee  house  was  established  this  year,  and  the  year  is  also  memorable 
for  the  treason  of  Benedict  Arnold,  which  is  a  matter  of  history.  Arnold 
concealed  himself  in  the  Verplanck  House,  in  Wall  street,  and  at  No.  9 
Broadway. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


(1780-1784.) 


Chelsea  Village — Its  Origin — Clement  C.  Moore — Treaty  of  Peace  Signed — 
Reception  of  General  Washington — Black  Sam's  Tavern — Recep- 
tion to  Lafayette — Proposition  to  Establish  Waterworks. 

"Dear  old  Chelsea  Village,"  said  one  of  its  residents  to  the  writer  lately, 
"has  nearly  passed  away.  Its  green  fields  and  its  gardens,  redolent  of  the 
perfume  of  flowers,  have  given  place  to  bricks  and  mortar.  It  is  too  bad 
that  life  is  not  perpetual.  If  it  were,  those  who  love  the  peace  and  quiet 
to  be  extracted  from  relationship  with  nature  would  be  able  to  press  back 
that  unromantic  fiend.  Commerce,  and  retain,  unmolested,  their  rus  et 
urbe." 

It  is  no  wonder  that  such  sentiments  are  expressed.  There  are  many 
people  in  New  York  to-day  who  strain  to  break  the  link  of  the  commercial 
chain  holding  them,  that  they  may  have  one  day  now  and  then  to  wander 
through  the  sections  of  country  where  echoes  not  the  trolley  bell  nor  pumps 
the  elevated  train,  where  money  is  not  an  all  absorbing  topic  and  where 
peace  reigns. 

In  Chelsea  Village  the  searcher  after  relics  of  bygone  days  may  find  a 
few,  though  many  have  been  crushed  out  of  existence.  Modern  improve- 
ments have  not  entirely  obliterated  the  green  wooden  shutters  or  the  curi- 
ously designed  iron  fences,  or  the  carved  doorways,  with  brass  knockers, 
or  the  diamond-pane  windows,  or  the  wide  stairways  with  heavy  posts,  as, 
for  instance,  in  the  row  of  little  houses  west  of  Ninth  avenue  on  Twenty- 
fourth  street,  known  as  the  Chelsea  Cottages.  The  old  people  of  the  section 
of  New  York  where  all  that  remains  of  old  Chelsea  Village  is  can  tell  you 
of  the  quaint  little  houses,  with  pretty  gardens,  that  stood  behind  such 
and  such  buildings  standing  to-day.  They  will  point  out  to  you  little 
alleys,  black  and  gloomy,  that  were  one  time  streets  or  short  cuts  from  one 
place  to  another  place.  They  will  tell  you  that  on  the  block  between 
Twenty-second  and  Twenty-third  streets,  from  Eighth  to  Ninth  avenue,  at 
one  time  stood  the  picturesque  home  of  Clement  C.  Moore,  son  of  the 
second  Bishop  of  New  York  and  writer  of  the  nursery  rhyme,  "'Twas  the 
Night  Before  Christmas."  "The  kindliest  of  scholars,  the  most  learned  of 
college  professors,  the  most  assiduous  of  bookworms,"  composed  this  little 
rhyme  in  what  the  Old  Chelsea  resident  will  tell  you  was  a  cosey  home 
surrounded  by  great  oaks  and  elms.  In  the  Church  of  St.  Peter,  in  West 
Twentieth  street,  reminiscent  of  the  old  days,  a  memorial  tells  the  simple 
record  of  Clement  C.  Moore's  good  works.  Old  St.  Peter's  has  been  touched 
up  with  modern  ideas  during  the  last  few  years,  but  it  still  retains  its 


74  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

solidity,  evidence  of  honesty  in  building  and  of  simplicity,  as  befits  its 
mission. 

To  Captain  Thomas  Clarke,  a  veteran  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  is 
due  the  credit  for  establishing  Chelsea.  Far  away  in  1750  this  American 
soldier  built  a  house  on  a  hill  which  stood  opposite  what  is  now  London 
Terrace,  on  West  Twenty-third  street,  and  called  it  Chelsea,  after  a  retreat 
of  that  name  in  England  for  old  soldiers.  At  the  time  mentioned  this 
house  was  the  only  one  to  be  seen  for  miles  around.  Shortly  after  its 
erection  a  fire  occurred  in  it,  and  it  was  burned  almost  to  the  ground. 
Captain  Clarke,  who  was  ill  at  the  time,  was  carried  from  it,  and  died  at 
the  house  of  a  friend.  After  his  death  his  wife  rebuilt  it  and  lived  in  it, 
with  her  two  daughters,  until  her  death  in  1802,  when  it  became  the 
property  of  the  father  of  Clement  C.  Moore,  and,  after  the  former's  death, 
passed  to  the  son.  From  this  old  house  is  derived  the  name  of  the  former 
village,  also  the  name  Chelsea  Square.  The  present  Theological  Seminary  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  stands  on  a  part  of  the  Moore  Farm. 

What  remains  of  London.  Terrace  and  its  deep  gardens  is  also  an  evi- 
dence of  the  beauty  and  respectability  of  old  Chelesa  before  the  rush  of 
population  engulfed  them. 

Another  old  landmark  of  Chelsea  Village  is  at  the  corner  of  Twenty- 
eighth  street  and  Ninth  avenue,  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Apostles.  The 
founding  of  this  church  is  of  especial  interest.  For  disobeying  his  father's 
wish  that  he  should  not  adopt  the  ministry  as  his  calling,  a  young  man  was 
disinherited.  The  father,  seeing  the  son  consistently  following  his  chosen 
religious  path,  made  a  new  will  leaving  to  him  his  entire  possessions. 
With  the  death  of  the  father,  and  the  division  equally  by  the  son  of  the 
property  among  the  heirs,  his  own  share  was  given  as  a  thank  offering  to 
build  the  church. 

Now,  for  the  end  of  the  Revolution  and  the  reclamation  of  New  York. 
Disaffection  prevailed  among  the  soldiers  of  Washington  in  1781  because  of 
the  scanty  fare  and  arrears  of  pay.  Inducements  to  desert  were  offered  by 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  the  Pennsylvania  troops,  who  had  abandoned  the  main 
army  and  set  out  for  Philadelphia  to  demand  a  redress  of  their  grievances 
by  Congress.  His  agents,  however,  were  seized  by  the  patriots  as  spies 
and  delivered  up  to  Congress.  At  Princeton  a  deputation  from  Congress 
met  the  disaffected  soldiers,  and  immediately  took  steps  to  relieve  them  by 
levying  taxes  and  requisitions  on  the  surrounding  country.  The  Southern 
campaign  opened  favorably  this  year  for  the  Americans. 

On  March  28,  1782,  Lord  North  resigned  as  head  of  the  British  Cabinet, 
and  Lord  Rockingham  succeeded  him.  Under  his  leadership  Sir  Guy  Carle- 
ton,  who  had  arrived  in  New  York  to  succeed  Clinton,  after  the  reception  in 
England  of  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  Cornwallis,  was  charged  to  negotiate 
for  an  early  treaty  of  peace.  On  November  30,  "after  much  correspond- 
ence and  negotiation,  preliminary  articles  of  peace  were  signed  at  Paris, 
though  intrigue  was  used  by  the  British  ambassadors  to  prevail  on  the 
American  commissioners  to  accept  a  twenty  years'  truce,  instead  of  an 
open  acknowledgment  of  independence."  On  September  3,  1783,  a  definitive 
treaty  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  recognizing  the  independence  of  the 
United  States,  was  signed.     On  November  3,   1783,   the  Continental  army 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK.  75 

was  disbanded  by  order  of  Congress,  and  on  the  19th  Washington  arrived 
at  Day's  Tavern,  corner  of  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  street  and  Eighth 
avenue.  It  was  not  until  November  25  that  the  British  and  their  sup- 
porters took  their  leave,  and  not  openly  or  fairly,  either.  "Their  last  mo- 
ments were  employed  in  the  commission  of  base  and  unmanly  outrages. 
Unreeving  the  halyarcfs  at  Fort  George,  they  knocked  off  the  cleats  and 
greased  the  pole,  to  prevent  the  hoisting  of  the  American  colors;  then 
evacuated  the  fort,  sure  that  the  Stars  and  Stripes  would  not  be  hoisted 
until  they  were  far  out  of  sight  of  their  folds."  Goelet's  hardware  store, 
in  Hanover  Square,  however,  supplied  the  indignant  onlookers  with  the 
necessary  tools  to  bore  new  cleats  for  the  flagstaff,  and,  with  a  sailor  boy 
tying  the  halyards  around  his  waist  and  nailing  the  cleats  above  him  to 
the  right  and  left  as  he  ascended,  the  flag  was  hoisted  to  its  place  with  a 
salute  of  thirteen  guns,  heard  by  the  British  troops. 

At  8  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  November  25,  with  General  Knox  at 
their  head,  the  Continentals  marched  from  McGowan's  Pass  down  the  old 
Post  Road  into  the  Bowery,  and  halted;  then  into  Chatham  and'into  Queen 
street,  up  Wall  street  to  Broadway  and  Rector  street.  "As  soon  as  the 
city  was  quietly  in  the  possession  of  the  American  Army,  General  Knox, 
with  a  great  number  of  respectable  citizens  on  horseback,  repaired  to  the 
Bowery  to  receive  His  Excellency  General  Washington  and  George  Clinton, 
the  Governor  of  the  State,  who,  with  their  respective  suites,  and  followed 
by  the  Lieutenant  Governor  and  Senators,  the  officers  of  the  army  and 
citizens,  on  horseback,  eight  abreast,  and  citizens  on  foot,  four  abreast, 
entered  the  city  through  the  Bowery,  Chatham  and  Pearl  streets,  to  the 
Battery."  The  meeting  took  place  at  the  Bull's  Head  Tavern,  where  the 
present  forlorn  Old  Bowery  Theatre  stands. 

Washington  lingered  a  few  days,  fixing  his  headquarters  at  Black 
Sam's  Tavern  (called  familiarly  after  Sam  Fraunces,  the  host,  at  that  time 
known  also  as  the  Queen's  Head  Tavern  and  later  as  Fraunces'  Tavern. 
Fraunces  was  afterward  steward  in  Washington's  household  when  Presi- 
dent), in  Broad  street,  where  at  noon  on  December  4  his  officers  assembled 
to  bid  him  farewell.  "Washington  could  scarce  restrain  his  feelings;  his 
friends  did  not  attempt  to  do  so.  Filling  a  glass  for  a  farewell  toast,  he 
turned  to  the  company  and  said:  'With  a  heart  full  of  love  and  gratitude,  I 
now  take  leave  of  you,  and  most  devoutly  wish  that  your  latter  days  may 
be  as  prosperous  and  happy  as  your  former  ones  have  been  glorious  and 
honorable.  I  cannot  come  to  each  of  you  to  take  my  leave,  but  shall  be 
obliged  if  each  one  will  come  and  take  me  by  the  hand.'  They  did  so,  and 
he  passed  from  the  room  to  Whitehall,  whence  he  was  conveyed  to  Paulus 
Hook,  thence  to  Annapolis,  where  Congress  was  in  session  and  where  he 
resigned  his  commission  as  commander-in-chief,  and  then  to  Mount  Vernon, 
to  resume  the  duties  of  a  private  citizen." 

At  this  period  there  v/ere  not  more  than  twenty  thousand  inhabitants 
In  the  city,  which  did  not  extend  further  north  than  Murray  street.  All 
the  churches  but  the  Episcopal  had  been  destroyed  or  used  for  military 
purposes,  such  as  hospitals,  barracks,  riding  schools,  etc.  There  were  no 
public  moneyed  or  charitable  institutions,  no  banks  or  insurance  offices; 
trade  was  at  a  low  ebb,  education  had  been  entirely  neglected,   and  the 


76  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

schools  and  colleges  were  shut  up.  Such  was  the  gloomy  condition  of  the 
city  after  the  Revolution.  "The  books  and  accounts  of  the  corporation 
during  the  Revolutionary  War  were  taken  away  by  Mr.  Cruger  (treasurer), 
who  joined  the  British  Army  and  left  this  country." 

In  1784  the  civic  authority  again  resumed  its  functions  and  endeavored 
to  restore  order  out  of  confusion — "to  collect  the  city  debts  and  rents,  which 
had  fallen  greatly  in  arrears,  and  were  in  a  great  measure  totally  lost 
during  the  war;  to  trace  out  and  secure  the  public  property  of  every 
description,  such  as  leased  ground,  water  lots,  etc.  The  seat  of  the  State 
government  was  removed  to  Albany,  and  the  Council  of  Appointment  vested 
with  authority  to  name  all  civil  officers  in  the  State,  which  before  the  war 
was  exercised  by  the  Governor."  James  Duane,  a  native  born  citizen,  who 
had  wrecked  his  fortune  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  and  had  returned 
to  his  farm  near  what  is  now  Gramercy  Park,  to  find  his  house  burned 
and  his  property  destroyed,  became  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  people 
for  Mayor,  and  on  February  5,  1784,  was  so  installed,  holding  the  office 
for  five  years.  ""  Richard  Varick  was  made  Recorder.  Lafayette,  on  Septem- 
ber 11,  "arrived  in  the  city  to  embark  for  France,  and  was  waited  upon 
by  the  corporation  with  an  address,  and  the  freedom  of  the  city  voted  him." 
October  2 — "John  Jay  arrived  from  Europe,  and  was  welcomed  by  the 
corporation,  who  paid  him  the  highest  honors  in  their  power."  October  6 — 
"Baron  Steuben  arrived,  and  was  addressed  by  the  corporation,  and  the 
freedom  of  the  city  voted  to  him."  December  2 — "General  Washington 
arrived,  and  was  received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm  by  the  citizens. 
The  corporation  made  him  an  address  of  congratulation  and  thanks,  and 
voted  the  freedom  of  the  city."  Elizabethtown  Ferry  was  leased  for  i65  a 
year  in  1784,  and  the  streets  were  cleaned  for  il50,  and  wells  and  pumps 
were  repaired  for  il40. 

Samuel  Ogden  this  year  proposed  to  establish  waterworks  for  the  city. 
His  proposition  was  "referred"  by  the  corporation,  as  was  that  of  Christo- 
pher Collis  in  1774.  Two  years  after  Ogden's  proposition  was  made,  or 
in  1786,  Robert  R.  Livingston  also  proposed  "to  convey  the  fresh  water 
into  the  city."  He  received  the  "direction  and  use"  of  the  Bowling  Green 
for  the  purpose,  but  his  scheme  was  unsuccessful.  On  December  17,  1798, 
one  month  after  an  epidemic  of  yellow  fever,  which  prevailed  from  July 
to  November,  with  a  mortality  of  2,086,  the  authorities  were  compelled  by 
public  pressure  to  take  up  the  various  propositions  which  had  been  made 
to  them  to  supply  the  city  with  pure  and  wholesome  water.  Bronx  River 
was  surveyed  by  an  English  engineer  named  Weston,  but  "the  corporation 
shrunk  from  the  immense  expense  anticipated  ($1,000,000),  and  a  private 
incorporation  was  started  to  accomplish  the  object,  called  the  Manhattan 
Company."  It  received  an  unlimited  charter  from  the  legislature,  "with  a 
capital  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  formed,  the  surplus  to 
be  employed  in  banking  operations,  and  the  exclusive  privilege  of  using  the 
springs  on  the  Island  for  the  supply  of  the  city." 

For  many  years  after  the  period  mentioned  the  Manhattan  Company 
supplied  New  York  with  water  drawn  from  deep  wells  and  springs,  and 
forced  up  by  a  steam  engine  to  a  reservoir  in  Chambers  street  that  was 
fifteen  feet  above  the  level    of    Broadway.     This    water    was    distributed 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  77 

through  every  street  in  the  city  by  means  of  wooden  pipes  running  three 
feet  under  the  level  of  the  pavement.  Lateral  pipes  extended  into  every 
house  that  paid  the  company  the  regular  tax  therefor,  $10,  but  extra  com- 
pensation was  necessary  to  procure  a  larger  flow  than  ordinarily.  The 
works  of  this  company  were  in  Reade  street,  "a  few  rods  northeast  from 
the  City  Hall." 

Here  is  an  extract  from  a  report  made  to  the  city  authorities  as  to  what 
the  Manhattan  Company  intended  to  do  in  the  way  of  improvements  in  the 
early  part  of  1800:  "They  intend  to  discard  the  filthy  wooden  logs  in 
which  the  water  has  hitherto  been  conveyed  throughout  the  city,  and  to 
substitute  cast-iron  pipes,  which  are  perfectly  clean  and  ever  durable.  They 
have  made  several  experiments  in  boring  for  water  to  a  great  depth  in 
different  places,  but  the  result  has  not  been  very  satisfactory."  The  cor- 
poration, however,  seemed  to  have  tried  its  hand  in  sinking  shafts  at 
the  same  time,  for  "it  met  with  better  success  than  the  Manhattan  Com- 
pany by  sinking  shafts  in  Washington  and  Fulton  markets,  and  in  the 
rear  of  the  City  Hall,  where  a  pure  soft  water  was  obtained,  which,  coming 
from  a  great  depth  below  all  the  impurities  of  the  surface,  will  be  of  much 
benefit,  if  to  be  obtained  in  adequate  quantities  in  the  southern  wards  of 
the  city." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


(1784-1785.) 


Trysting  Place  of  New  York's  Belles  and  Beaux — Homes   of   Old  New 

Yorkers — Fashionable  Hotels  in  the  old  Days — Formation 

of  Political  Parties — Tryon  Row. 

That  the  trysting  place  of  New  York's  belles  and  beaux  a  century 
ago  was  the  Battery — an  oasis  in  the  congested  lower  part  of  the  city,  and 
shamefaced  because  of  its  defacement  by  the  elevated  road — is  known  to 
few.  It  was,  however.  And  even  when  the  center  of  fashion  of  the  youthful 
city  was  at  Bleecker  and  Bond  streets,  the  termination  of  an  afternoon 
walk  of  Knickerbocker  lovers  and  their  staid  elders  was  under  the  trees  by 
the  waterside  at  the  Battery.  The  park  was  then  half  its  present  size,  and 
with  no  formidable  sea  wall  to  stop  the  tide,  which  rippled  decorously  on 
a  beach  of  rocks  and  sand,  and  Castle  Garden  was  a  frowning  fortress, 
reached  by  a  wooden  bridge. 

Before  Dame  Fashion  turned  her  magnet  to  this  part  of  the  city  where 
the  Dutch  laid  the  first  foundations  of  a  metropolis  for  the  New  World, 
there  clustered  the  homes  of  merchants  of  sterling  qualities.  In  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Bowling  Green  was  the  home  of  Stephen  Whitney,  later  one  of 
old  New  York's  millionaires.  Robert  Goelet  lived  in  State  street,  and  the 
Rhinelanders,  Leroys  and  Schermerhorns  on  lower  Broadway. 

When  Dame  Fashion  laid  her  magnet  temporarily  aside,  Washington 
Square,  Great  Jones  street  and  Lafayette  Place  held  her  devotees,  and  the 
current  of  business  buried  their  former  abodes  under  its  waves,  the  last 
Knickerbocker  house  to  be  engulfed  being  that  of  Stephen  Whitney,  which 
faced  Bowling  Green  and  looked  up  Broadway. 

At  this  period  of  the  city's  history  fashionable  hotels  and  boarding- 
houses  a-plenty  were  to  be  found  on  Broadway.  The  Adelphi  Hotel  was 
on  the  corner  of  Beaver  street;  the  Mansion  House  at  No.  3  9  Broadway;  the 
City  Hotel  occupied  the  entire  block  between  Thames  and  Cedar  streets, 
"and  was  the  loftiest  edifice  of  that  kind  in  the  city;"  the  National  Hotel 
was  at  No.  112  Broadway;  the  Franklin  House,  corner  of  Dey  street;  the 
American  Hotel,  Broadway  and  Barclay  street;  Washington  Hall,  Broadway 
and  Reade  street;  Park  Place  House,  corner  of  Broadway  and  Park  Place; 
Niblo's  Bank  Coffee  House,  Pine  and  William  streets;  Tontine  Coffee  House, 
Wall  street,  corner  of  Water.  The  principal  book  stores  and  libraries  were 
also  in  lower  Broadway.  What  was  more  natural,  then,  than  to  have  "one 
of  the  noblest  places  of  public  recreation  in  the  world"  convenient  to  the 
business  centre  of  the  city — the  Castle  Garden,  which  was  built  as  a  place 
of  defence  in  1807,  and  retained  for  public  purposes  until  1823,  when  it  was 

78 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    SEW     YORK.  79 

ceded  by  the  United  States  government  to  the  corporation  of  New  York? 
Immense  sums  of  money,  for  that  time,  were  expended  in  its  erection,  and 
the  foundation,  superstructure  and  bridge  cost  the  government  at  different 
times  several  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  1824  it  was  leased  for  five 
years  at  $1,400  a  year,  and  became  a  fashionable  resort.  Here  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  it  worth  reading  in  1909: 

"The  felicitous  situation  of  this  spot,  projecting  out  from  the  line  of 
the  Battery  into  the  deep  waters  of  the  harbor  and  commanding  one  of  the 
noblest  views  in  the  world,  caused  at  its  opening  a  rush  of  genteel  company 
during  the  warm  season  that  was  quite  unprecedented  before  in  our  city. 
The  illusions  of  the  scene  at  this  place  during  the  pleasant  evenings  of 
summer  are  truly  delightful,  when  the  bridge  leading  to  the  Garden  and 
the  whole  interior  of  the  premises  are  gaily  lighted  with  numerous  lamps. 
A  full  band  of  music  is  always  engaged,  and  fireworks  and  other  exhibitions 
attract  nightly  a  vast  concourse  of  genteel  citizens  and  strangers.  The 
combination  of  objects  that  are  here  presented  to  the  eye  are  frequently  of 
the  most  gratifying  description.  The  Hudson  River,  stretching  far  to  the 
north;  the  near  view  of  large  ships  of  war  and  merchantmen  moored  off 
in  the  river  or  harbor;  the  arrival  or  departure  of  steamboats  crowded  with 
passengers  and  noisy  with  bells,  steam  and  bugles,  and  smoky  and  foamy 
in  their  progress;  the  distant  forts;  the  large  and  dry  terrace  and  parterres 
of  the  Battery  Walk,  swarming  with  visitors;  the  fine  trees  and  regular  and 
handsome  private  dv/ellings  around  the  east  side  of  the  Battery;  the  distant 
hills  of  Staten  Island  and  New  Jersey,  covered  with  verdure — these  are 
the  attractions  that  cause  the  Castle  Garden  of  New  York  to  be  the  most 
favored  place  of  public  resort.  A  spacious  ballroom,  ninety  feet  long,  is 
on  the  premises,  and  admission  to  the  building  may  be  gained  by  a  yearly 
payment  of  $10  for  a  family,  or  %h  for  a  single  person,  or  by  nightly  tickets. 
Refreshments  of  every  description  are  furnished,  and  the  whole  interior 
sometimes  displays  numerous  groups  and  parties,  seated  around  their  tables, 
partaking  of  their  delicacies,  and  presenting  the  appearance  of  a  large  and 
happy  party  of  pleasure,  while  the  enlivening  strains  of  music  and  the 
constant  and  moving  variety  of  dress,  feature,  language  and  action  keep 
the  attention  constantly  awake  and  gratified."  What  simple  tastes  were 
those  of  our  forefathers! 

As  the  foregoing  introduction  is  over  forty  years  ahead  of  the  chronol- 
ogy, we  will  go  back  to  17S4,  when  a  bill  was  passed  in  the  Assembly  dis- 
franchising all  who  had  adhered  to  the  British  cause;  also,  an  act  per- 
mitting all  patriots  who  had  been  obliged  to  leave  the  city  to  bring  an 
action  for  trespass  against  such  Tories  as  had  entered  or  occupied  their 
houses  during  the  British  occupation.  A  test  case  on  the  latter  act,  in 
v/hich  the  brilliant  Alexander  Hamilton  showed  his  forensic  power,  soon 
took  place.  Joshua  Waddington,  a  Tory  merchant,  bought  the  confiscated 
estate  of  Elizabeth  Rutgers,  who  had  fled  from  the  city  on  the  approach 
of  General  Howe,  abandoning  her  property.  Under  the  Trespass  Act  Mrs. 
Rutgers,  returning,  claimed  the  estate,  "much  sympathy  being  enlisted  for 
her."  Hamilton's  sense  of  justice  led  him  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the 
Tory  merchant  and  win  the  case  for  him,  which  resulted  in  the  formation 
of  a  conspiracy  by  a  number  of  the  Liberty  Boys  to  challenge  Hamilton  to 


8o  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

a  duel  with  pistols.  The  conspiracy  was  not  permitted  to  mature,  how- 
ever, though  a  wordy  war  was  carried  on  between  "Phocian"  (Hamilton's 
nom  de  plume)  and  "Mentor"  (that  of  Ledyard,  one  of  the  Liberty  Boys). 
The  sense  of  justice  prevailed  among  the  people,  and  Hamilton  was  sus- 
tained. 

The  act  of  the  Assembly  disfranchising  the  adherents  to  the  British 
cause  resulted  in  the  formation  of  two  political  parties  in  New  York,  the 
federalists  (the  refranchised  royalists)  and  the  anti-federalists.  The  former 
strove  to  have  the,  to  them,  obnoxious  act  repealed,  but  were  stoutly  opposed 
by  the  Sons  of  Liberty.  Hamilton  and  Schuyler  seconded  the  efforts  of  the 
federalists,  however,  and  on  February  3,  1787,  the  loyalists  were  reinstated 
in  their  privileges  of  citizenship,  and  threw  their  support  to  Hamilton  a 
few  years  afterward,  when  "the  most  wonderful  work  ever  struck  off  at  a 
given  time  by  the  brain  and  purpose  of  man" — the  American  Constitution — 
was  presented  to  the  people  to  be  acted  upon. 

Beginning  with  the  year  1784,  the  spirit  of  public  improvements  was 
revived  in  New  York.  Steps  were  taken  to  improve  the  waste  ground 
around  the  Collect,  ^nd  the  barracks  along  the  line  of  Chambers  street,  from 
Broadway  to  Chatham  street,  which  had  been  built  during  the  old  French 
war,  were  declared  useless,  and  were  leased  as  dwellings  for  the  benefit  of 
the  city.  These  barracks  were  rude  log  huts,  one  story  high,  surrounded 
by  a  high  wall,  with  a  gate  at  Broadway  and  one  at  Chatham  street.  The 
eastern  gate  was  known  as  "Tryon's,"  and  the  present  Tryon  Row  takes  its 
name  from  it. 

In  1785  "the  first  Congress  of  the  United  States,  after  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  met  in  New  York,  and  was  organized  in  the  City  Hall,  that  stood 
in  Wall  street,  corner  of  Nassau."  This  year  a  sale  of  corporation  lots,  the 
proceeds  to  be  applied  to  extinguish  the  city  debts,  took  place.  Eight  were 
sold  near  the  Bear  Market  (now  Vesey  and  Greenwich  streets)  for 
£2,879  8s.,  and  one  for  i300,  and  Staten  Island  Ferry  was  leased  for  £20  a 
year.  "Arrearages  of  quit  rents  from  1st  May,  1776,  to  24th  November, 
1783,  were  given  up  by  the  corporation  to  all  who  had  left  the  city  during 
the  war."  On  May  2  "General  Washington  made  a  reply  to  the  address  of 
the  corporation." 

It  is  noted  in  the  old  manuscripts  that  "the  Bank  of  New  York  is  in 
operation."  This  was  the  oldest  incorporated  banking  institution  in  the 
city.  It  was  founded  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  but  was  not  incor- 
porated until  March  21,  1791.  The  charter  then  granted  was  for  twenty 
years,  and  "the  capital  stock  was  to  consist  of  950,000  dollars,  divided  into 
1,900  shares,  of  500  dollars  each.  It  was  rechartered  in  May,  1811,  and 
again  in  May,  1820,  and  subsequently  in  1832."  It  stood  on  the  corner 
of  William  and  Wall  streets. 

^  On  October  5  of  this  year  "Thomas  Pool  petitioned  the  corporation 
and  prayed  that  he  be  permitted  to  exhibit  some  feats  of  horsemanship 
in  the  Bowling  Green.  It  was  read  and  rejected."  On  October  14  "a 
donation  of  £40  made  to  the  corporation,  for  the  use  of  the  poor,  by  the 
company  of  Comedians,  was  by  the  Common  Council  ordered  to  be  returned, 
with  a  note  of  disapprobation  at  the  establishment  of  a  Play  House  without 
having  been  licensed  as  unprecedented  and  offensive;  and  while  so  great 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    XEIV     YORK.  8i 

a  part  of  the  city  was  still  lying  in  ruins,  and  the  citizens  still  suffering 
under  distress,  there  is  a  loud  call  to  industry  and  economy,  and  it  wo-aid 
be  unjustifiable  in  them  to  countenance  expensive  and  enticing  amuse- 
ments. That  among  those,  a  Play  House,  however  regulated,  was  to  be 
numbered,  while,  if  under  no  restraint,  it  may  prove  a  fruitful  source  of 
dissipation,  criminality  and  vice."  The  salary  of  the  Mayor  was  £250  a 
year  in  1785. 

The  Manumission  Society,  formed  for  the  purpose  of  ameliorating  the 
condition  of  the  slaves  in  the  State  of  New  York,  began  its  work  this  year, 
and  was  incorporated  on  February  19,  1808.  Its  affairs  were  managed  by 
a  committee  of  well  known  and  responsible  citizens,  eager  to  obtain  for 
the  slaves  "advantages  already  sanctioned  by  law,  and  to  confer  on  them 
a  virtuous  education."  The  society  administered  its  work  successfully, 
and  through  its  unwearied  exertions  the  slaves  gradually  diminished  in 
numbers  and  began  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  freemen. 

The  year  1786  opened  crucially  in  New  York.  The  loose  confederation 
of  the  thirteen  States  was  causing  alarm.  Independence  had  been  gained, 
and  with  its  advent  and  the  freedom  from  control  of  Britain  the  States 
began  to  act  separately,  in  accordance  with  the  Article  of  Confederation.  A 
thin  cord  in  the  hand  of  an  impotent  Congress  was  the  only  thing  that  held 
them  together.  New  York  passed  a  law  compelling  Connecticut  sloops 
laden  with  firewood  for  the  inhabitants  to  report  to  the  customs  authorities 
and  to  pay  duties.  New  Jersey  farmers  were  also  compelled,  according  to 
law,  to  pay  customs  duties  on  their  products  as  soon  as  they  arrived  at 
Whitehall  Slip.  Retaliatory  measures  were  taken,  of  course,  by  these 
States,  and  affairs  began  to  look  ominous.  The  need  of  a  closer  union  of 
the  States  and  of  an  efficient  general  government  soon  became  apparent. 
James  Madison,  of  Virginia,  noted  the  exigency,  and  on  September  11, 
1786,  a  convention  "to  mature  trade  regulations"  between  the  States  was 
held  at  Annapolis.  Five  States  were  represented.  Alexander  Hamilton 
represented  New  York,  and  prepared  an  address,  which  was  adopted  by  the 
convention,  in  which  he  urged  the  States  to  appoint  commissioners  to  a 
further  convention,  to  deliberate  not  alone  on  commercial  relations,  but  "to 
devise  such  further  provisions  as  shall  appear  to  them  necessary  to  render 
the  Constitution  of  the  federal  government  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
Union."  His  work  at  this  convention  resulted  in  the  Philadelphia  Con- 
vention in  the  following  May,  at  which  George  Washington  presided.^  On 
September  17,  178  7,  the  present  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
adopted  by  the  delegates  and  submitted  to  the  different  States  for  approval. 
While  New  York  State  has  the  credit  of  having  initiated  the  movement 
which  resulted  so  gloriously,  she  was  not  the  first  to  accept  the  result  of 
the  convention's  work.  Little  Delaware  holds  that  honor,  and  New  York 
stands  eleventh,  not  having  adopted  it  till  July  26,  1788,  at  Poughkeepsie, 
her  inhabitants  averring  that  it  placed  too  much  power  in  the  hands  of  the 
Executive. 

Prior  to  New  York's  acceptance  of  the  Constitution,  demonstrations 
were  held  by  the  federalists  and  anti-federalists,  and  on  July  23,  three 
days  before  its  adoption,  a  thirty-two  gun  frigate,  christened  "The  Federal 
Ship  Hamilton,"  manned  by  thirty  seamen  and  marines,  was  drawn  by  ten 


82 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 


horses  through  the  streets  in  procession  from  the  Bowling  Green  to  Bayard's 
Farm,  in  the  vicinity  of  Grand  street.  "Between  four  and  five  thousand 
persons  were  feasted  in  the  open  air,  and  thousands  flocked  from  the 
neighboring  country  to  witness  the  spectacle."  Sarcastic  remarks  on  this 
demonstration  in  a  paper  called  "The  Patriotic  Register"  incensed  the 
federalists,  "and  a  spirit  of  mobocracy  broke  out,  resulting  in  the  breaking 
open  of  the  office  in  Pine  street,  in  which  the  paper  was  set,  and  the 
destruction  of  the  one  press  and  type."  Another  attack  "was  made  on  the 
house  of  John  Lamb,  in  Wall  street,  betv.-een  Pearl  and  William  streets,  but 
without  ill  effects."  The  city,  however,  soon  subsided  into  a  state  of  quiet, 
and  on  September  13,  178S,  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  was  publicly 
declared  and  the  city  of  New  York  selected  as  the  seat  of  the  general 
government. 


CHAPTER    XVn. 


(1785-1788.) 


Fair  Greenwich — Origin  of  Abingdon  Square — Bank  Street — Second  Jewish 

Burying  Ground — Stage  Line  Between  Greenwich  Village  and 

Pine  Street — Monument  to  General  Montgomery. 

Fair  Greenwich  Village, 

Slept  by  Hudson's  rural  shore. 
Two  miles  out  from  New  York  City, 

With   its  bustle,   i-ush   and   roar! 
Then   great   Gotham's   "eighty   thousand" 

Filled  the  New  World  with  amaze, 
And  the  City  Hall  was  building 

"Out  of  town"  in  those  "fast"  days! 

Well  named  "fair  Greenwich"  by  the  poet  is  this  part  of  New  York, 
which,  with  the  exception  of  the  vicinity  of  the  Battery,  is  said  to  have 
been  the  oldest  habitation  of  white  men  on  the  island.  Historians  vary 
in  opinion  as  to  its  origin,  but  most  of  them  grant  to  Sir  Peter  Warren, 
K.  B.,  the  honor  of  founding  it,  if  the  term  may  be  used.  However,  in  a 
land  conveyance  of  1721,  twenty-three  years  before  the  advent  of  Sir  Peter, 
the  name  Greenwich  is  used  as  an  alias,  originated  by  whom  the  writer 
cannot  say. 

Sir  Peter  Warren  was  "some  pumpkins"  in  New  York  in  1744.  He 
had  then  returned  from  Martinique,  where  he  had  captured  many  French 
and  Spanish  prizes  with  his  squadron  of  sixteen  sailing  craft.  These  were 
sold  for  him  by  Stephen  De  Lancey  &  Co.,  and  netted  him  a  considerable 
fortune,  and  it  is  said  he  bought  his  Greenwich  farm  of  three  hundred 
acres  with  a  part  of  the  money.  At  any  rate,  the  rise  of  Greenwich  is  at- 
tributed to  the  Wily  Sir  Peter,  who  married  the  daughter  of  his  sales  agent, 
Susannah  De  Lancey.  Abingdon  Square,  with  its  little  park,  is  a  memento 
of  the  Warren  farm,  the  oldest  of  Sir  Peter's  three  daughters  having  mar- 
ried the  Earl  of  Abingdon,  for  whom  the  square  is  named.  Abijah  Ham- 
mond became  the  owner  of  the  farm  after  the  death  of  the  vice  admiral, 
and  in  1819  Mr.  Van  Ness  purchased  from  him  the  mansion,  with  the 
square  bounded  by  Fourth,  Bleecker,  Perry  and  Charlos  streets.  In  1865  the 
house  was  torn  down,  and  most  of  the  present  houses  were  erected  on  its 
site. 

No  more  bewildering  confusion  of  street  formation  exists  anywhere 
than  in  this  section  of  the  city,  where  was  once  old  Greenwich.  An  exam- 
ple is  Fourth   street,   which    crosses  Tenth,   Eleventh   and    Twelfth   streets 

83 


84  CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK. 

at  very  nearly  right  angles.  Other  streets  start  all  right,  run  for  a  block  or 
two  with  regularity,  and  then  take  unreasonable  turns,  or  else  bring  one 
up  before  a  brick  wall.  This  condition  may  be  attributed  to  the  fantastic 
ideas  of  the  owners  of  land  in  that  section  in  the  early  period  of  the  city's 
growth.  When  a  short  cut  from  one  place  to  another  was  desired  they 
cut  a  lane,  and  perhaps  another  to  some  part  of  the  farm  land,  leaving, 
with  what  improved  conditions  the  city  has  made  in  street  making  there,  a 
tangled  network  of  the  old  and  the  new  that  will  not  assimilate. 

Greenwich  Road  followed  the  line  of  the  present  Greenwich  street,  and 
led  to  Greenwich  Village.  While  in  dry  weather  most  of  the  route  was  good 
ground,  in  wet  weather,  especially  in  the  region  of  the  Lispenard  salt 
meadows,  which  then  lay  north  and  south  of  the  present  Canal  street,  and 
of  the  marshy  valley  of  Manetta  Creek  (about  Charlton  street),  it  was 
difficult  of  access.  An  inland  road  was  therefore  approved  in  1768  from 
the  Post  Road  (the  present  Bowery)  to  what  is  now  Astor  Place,  then  to 
Waverley  Place,  then  to  Greenwich  avenue.  Two  sections  of  this  road  exist 
to-day,  Astor  Place  and  Greenwich  avenue,  between  Eighth  and  Fourteenth 
streets.    The  rest  is  obliterated. 

The  open  space  at  Astor  Place  is  a  part  of  the  road  to  Greenwich  known 
as  Monument  Lane,  or  "road  to  the  Obelisk,"  because  at  its  northern  ex- 
tremity, or  where  is  now  Eighth  avenue  and  Fifteenth  street.  General 
Wolfe,  the  hero  of  Quebec,  had  a  memorial  erected  to  him.  The  lane  extended 
from  the  Bowery  to  Washington  Square,  turned  northwest  and  skirted 
Greenwich  Village.  At  Jefferson  Market,  where  Greenwich  avenue  joins 
Sixth  avenue,  the  reader  will  find  the  last  section  of  the  inland  road. 

A  prominent  physician  told  the  writer  a  short  time  ago  that  no  more 
healthful  location  exists  in  New  York  than  what  was  once  the  site  of  the 
village.  This  was  also  true  in  the  old  days,  for  the  epidemics  of  virulent 
diseases  that  attacked  the  old  city  found  no  lodgement  in  Greenwich — in- 
deed, they  assisted  in  her  development.  This  healthfulness  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  underlying  soil  of  the  district  to  a  depth  of  at  least  fifty  feet  is  a 
pure  sand,  and  provides  excellent  natural  drainage. 

Bank  street  is  reminiscent  of  the  yellow  fever  epidemic  of  1798,  in 
that  the  Bank  of  New  York  and  a  branch  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
purchased  two  plots  of  eight  city  lots  each  in  Greenwich  Village — far 
away  from  the  city  proper — to  which  they  could  remove  in  case  of  being 
placed  in  danger  of  quarantine.  In  1799  two  houses  were  erected  on  them, 
and  in  September  of  the  same  year  the  banks  were  removed  to  the  village, 
and  gave  the  name  to  the  present  street,  which  was  then  a  lane.  The  year 
1822  saw  another  influx  of  population  to  Greenwich  Village  because  of  its 
healthfulness.  "The  town  fairly  exploded  and  went  flying  beyond  its 
borders,  as  though  the  pestilence  had  been  a  burning  mine.  The  city  pre- 
sented the  appearance  of  a  town  besieged.  From  daybreak  till  night  one 
Hne  of  carts,  containing  boxes,  merchandise  and  effects,  were  seen  moving 
foward  Greenwich  Village  and  the  upper  parts  of  the  city.  Carriages  and 
hacks,  wagons  and  horsemen,  were  scouring  the  streets  and  filling  the 
roads.  .  .  .  Temporary  stores  and  offices  were  erecting.  .  .  .  Even 
on  Sunday  carts  were  in  motion,  and  the  saw  and  hammer  busily  at  work. 
Within  a  few  days  thereafter    (September)    the   Custom  House,   the   Post- 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  85 

office,  the  bank,  the  insurance  offices  and  the  printers  of  newspapers  located 
themselves  in  the  village,  or  in  the  upper  part  of  Broadway,  where  they 
were  free  from  the  impending  danger,  and  these  places  almost  instanta- 
neously became  the  seat  of  the  immense  business  usually  carried  on  in  the 
great  metropolis."  This  epidemic  "caused  the  building  up  of  many  streets 
with  numerous  wooden  buildings,  for  the  uses  of  the  merchants,  banks, 
offices,  etc."  An  old  authority  says  "that  he  saw  corn  growing  on  the 
present  corner  of  Hammond  (West  Eleventh)  and  Fourth  streets  on  a  Sat- 
urday morning,  and  on  the  following  Monday  Sykes  &  Niblo  had  a  house 
erected  capable  of  accommodating  three  hundred  boarders.  Even  the 
Brooklyn  ferryboats  ran  up  here  daily." 

Three  remnants  of  the  town  when  the  Greenwich  region  for  the  most 
part  was  open  country,  says  another  authority,  are  the  two  old  frame 
dwellings,  removed  from  their  former  site,  a  few  feet  away,  to  their  present 
one,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Eleventh  street  and  Sixth  avenue,  and  the 
triangular  graveyard  near  the  corner,  the  second  place  of  burial  owned  by 
the  Jews  on  the  island.  In  1830,  when  Eleventh  street  was  opened  on  the 
lines  of  the  City  Plan,  almost  the  whole  of  the  Jewish  burial  ground  was 
swept  away.  The  street  went  directly  across  it,  leaving  only  the  corner  on 
its  south  side  and  a  still  smaller  corner  on  its  north  side. 

A  walk  through  the  heart  of  this  interesting  locality — the  American 
quarter,  from  Fourteenth  street  down  to  Canal,  west  of  Sixth  avenue — will 
reveal  a  moral  and  physical  cleanliness  not  found  in  any  other  semi-con- 
gested part  of  New  York;  an  individuality  of  the  positive  sort  transmitted 
from  generation  to  generation;  a  picturesqueness  in  its  old  houses,  "stand- 
ing squarely  on  their  right  to  be  individual"  alongside  those  of  modern 
times,  and,  above  all  else,  a  truly  American  atmosphere  of  the  pure  kind. 
Please  remember,  too,  that  in  1816  Greenwich  Village  had  individualism 
enough  to  be  the  terminus  of  a  stage  line  from  Pine  street  and  Broadway, 
the  stages  "running  on  the  even  hours  from  Greenwich  and  the  uneven 
hours  from  Pine  street." 

Again  we  will  retrace  our  steps  to  the  chronology,  beginning  with 
1786,  when  the  annual  expenses  of  the  city  were  £10,308  4s.  Mulberry 
street  was  opened  and  regulated  this  year,  and  a  market  house  was  estab- 
lished at  Catharine  Slip — the  present  one.  On  November  15,  "Bakers  not 
allowed  to  carry  biscuit  or  rusk  around  the  streets" — the  why  or  where- 
fore is  beyond  the  writer's  pen.    On  December  13,  "a  great  fall  of  snow." 

The  only  Catholic  church  in  the  city  up  to  1815  was  St.  Peter's,  erected 
this  year  in  Barclay  street.  It  was  a  plain  brick  building,  "of  the  size  of 
81  by  48  feet."  It  had  a  square  tower,  surmounted  with  a  dome  and  cross. 
The  interior  was  ornamented  with  paintings  from  sacred  subjects,  and  had 
an  organ  and  a  select  choir.  The  present  church  is  the  second  structure, 
the  first  having  been  destroyed  by  fire. 

%  In  1787  "ther^  were  364  tavern  (or  dram  shop)  licenses  issued,  at  30s. 
each,  amounting  to  £546,"  and  "Corporation  lots  at  Peck  Slip  were  leased 
for  twenty-one  years,  for  35s.  and  28s.  per  foot."  This  year  is  memorable 
for  the  establishment  of  the  Humane  Society,  "an  excellent  institution 
formed  by  a  few  philanthropic  gentlemen,"  who  aimed  to  ameliorate  the 
sufferings  of  distressed  debtors. 


86  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

When  this  society  was  founded,  on  January  26,  it  was  named  the 
"Society  for  the  Relief  of  Distressed  Debtors,"  but  in  1803  the  name  was 
changed  to  "Humane  Society."  In  1806  it  extended  its  original  plan  so  as 
to  include  the  recovery  of  persons  apparently  dead  from  drowning.  On 
February  4,  1814,  the  society  obtained  a  charter  of  incorporation,  and  at 
the  time  the  "Collector  of  the  laws  of  New  York"  said:  "This  is  the  first 
institution  of  the  kind  in  this  State  which  has  for  its  avowed  object  the 
relief  of  imprisoned  debtors.  A  society  of  a  similar  title  in  the  city  of 
Albany  has  been  instituted  for  the  resuscitation  of  drowned  persons,  etc., 
but  it  is  not  blended  with  the  other  humane  object  of  relieving  imprisoned 
debtors."  For  a  considerable  period  the  institution  was  supported  by 
casual  donations,  but  afterward  depended  on  annual  subscriptions.  These, 
with  a  donation  of  $600  from  the  corporation  and  a  lot  of  ground  in  Tryon 
street,  enabled  it  to  erect  a  souphouse.  For  several  years  debtors  in  jail 
were  supplied  not  only  with  soup,  but  with  blankets  and  fuel.  Bach  person 
received  "three  pints  of  good  soup  per  day,  with  a  due  proportion  of  bread, 
meat  and  potatoes."  In  seasons  of  public  calamity,  "by  sickness  or  by  the 
severity  of  cold  in  winter,  upward  of  1,000  quarts  of  soup  per  day  have 
been  given  by  the  souphouse."  "The  views  of  the  Humane  Society,"  says 
the  record  in  18  29,  "are  now  directed  to  the  following  branches:  1st.  The 
support  and  clothing  of  debtors  in  prison,  and  maintenance  of  a  souphouse. 
2d.  The  liberation  of  such  debtors  as  are  by  law  entitled  to  be  discharged, 
and  of  such  as  are  confined  for  small  sums,  and  are  peculiarly  deserving  of 
assistance.  3d.  The  distribution  of  soup  to  the  poor  in  general,  especially 
in  cases  of  general  public  calamity.  4th.  The  resuscitation  of  persons 
apparently  dead  from  drowning,  and  the  discouraging  the  practice  of 
street  begging." 

On  April  3  "a  monument  to  General  Montgomery,  made  by  order  of 
Congress  25th  January,  1776,  was  ordered  to  be  placed  in  front  of  St. 
Paul's  Church."  The  remains  of  the  hero  of  Quebec  were  transferred  from 
their  Canadian  resting  place  to  the  city  and  deposited  with  military  honors 
beneath  the  mural  tomb,  on  July  11,  1818.  "As  Montgomery,  though  of 
Irish  parentage,  was  allied  to  many  of  the  prominent  families  of  the  city 
through  his  marriage  with  the  sister  of  Chancellor  Livingston,  the  transfer 
of  his  remains  occasioned  a  lively  interest  among  the  people." 

Here  is  a  note  from  the  old  manuscript  that  will  give  food  for  thought: 
"This  State,  from  its  first  settlement  till  this  year,  presented  no  instance 
of  divorce,  in  any  case  whatever."  What  a  preventive  to  the  revealing  of 
closet  cadavers!     What  moral  cleanliness  and  patience  among  the  people! 

The  most  exciting  event,  probably,  that  ever  took  place  in  New  York 
occurred  on  April  13,  1788.  During  the  winters  of  1787  and  1788  a  number 
of  bodies  were  dug  up  from  private  cemeteries  in  the  city.  When  the  fact 
became  known  "a  violent  excitement  arose  among  the  people,  which 
awakened  a  great  prejudice  against  the  medical  profession." >  Absurd  re- 
ports were  circulated  regarding  the  affair,  and  the  New  York  Hospital  was 
in  the  zone  of  superstition.  To  increase  the  excitement,  some  students  of 
the  hospital  on  April  13  exposed  the  limb  of  a  body  from  the  window  of 
the  dissecting  room  in  sight  of  a  group  of  boys  playing  around  the  grounds. 
The   boys   spread   the    news,    and    in    a   short   time    an    immense    multitude 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK.  87 

assembled  and  besieged  the  hospital.  The  doors  were  burst  open,  and  the 
terrified  physicians,  who  had  attempted  to  secrete  themselves,  were  dragged 
out.  To  save  them  from  the  fury  of  the  crowd  the  magistrates  interfered 
and  lodged  them  in  jail  for  safety.  The  next  morning  an  attempt  was 
made  to  search  the  houses  of  suspected  physicians,  but  prominent  men,  such 
as  Clinton,  Hamilton  and  Jay,  remonstrated,  and  for  a  few  hours  the  mob 
was  quiet.  In  the  afternoon  the  city  was  the  scene  of  intense  excitement. 
The  infuriated  people  had  gathered  about  the  jail  and  demanded  possession 
of  the  students.  When  refused  they  assumed  a  hostile  attitude  and  at- 
tacked the  building,  tearing  down  the  fences  and  breaking  the  windows. 
The  Mayor  ordered  the  militia  out,  and  himself  led  a  large  party  of  armed 
citizens  to  the  relief  of  the  besieged.  Eloquence  was  of  no  use  to  allay  the 
tempest  surging  around  the  hospital,  and  a  volley  of  stones  and  brickbats 
which  felled  John  Jay  and  Baron  Stuben  to  the  ground  caused  the  Mayor 
to  order  the  militia  to  fire  on  the  crowd.  At  the  first  volley  a  number  of  the 
rioters  fell  and  the  rest  dispersed.  Five  persons  were  killed  and  eight 
wounded.  It  was  some  days  before  quiet  was  restored  and  the  militia 
removed  from  the  grounds  of  the  hospital.  The  offending  students  were 
sent  away,  but  "the  venerable  hospital  was  henceforth  invested  by  the 
populace  with  a  sort  of  horror,  and  became  the  scene  of  many  a  fearful 
resurrectionist  legend." 


CHAPTEK  XVIII. 


(1788-1790.) 


Broadway  in  the  Beginning  of  the  Nineteenth  Century — Residence  Streets 

— Business  Streets — Country  Seats — Brevoort  Estate  and  Fight 

of  Owner — Henry  Spingler's  Stubbornness. 

Few,  if  any,  of  the  thousands  who  ci'oss  Broadway  at  Fourteenth 
street  every  day  have  any  knowledge  or  give  thought  of  the  position 
this  spot  held  in  the  long  ago  as  the  extreme  limit  of  the  city.  It.  was  "far 
uptown"  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  to  the  extreme 
south  and  southwest  of  it  the  ancestors  of  the  present  day  Knickerbockers 
carried  on  business  and  had  their  dwelling  houses. 

The  "pleasantest  streets  for  the  residence  of  private  and  genteel 
families"  in  the  old  days  were  State  street,  fronting  the  Battery;  Bridge 
street,  Bowling  Green,  Greenwich  street,  from  the  Battery  to  Cortlandt 
street;  Broadway,  from  the  Battery  to  Rector  street;  Bond  street,  Hudson 
street.  Park  Place,  Chambers  street.  Liberty  and  Cortlandt  streets,  west  of 
Broadway;  Dey  street,  Vesey  street,  Barclay  street,  Murray  street,  Warren 
street,  Bleecker  street.  Prince  street,  Lafayette  Place,  Broome  street, 
Spring  street.  Grand  street,  Franklin  street.  White  street,  and  Walker 
street.  Other  streets  that  were  more  within  the  vortex  of  business,  such 
as  Beekman,  Pearl,  Cliff,  John  and  Cherry  streets,  were  also  pleasant,  but 
were  not  considered  to  be  in  quite  so  fashionable  a  quarter  of  the  town. 
Madison  street,  after  its  improvement  in  1824,  was  "built  up  with  neat 
and  spacious  houses,  and  was  a  very  convenient  and  respectable  street." 

As  to  business.  South  street,  as  now,  was  occupied  by  shipping  mer- 
chants, but  only  from  the  Battery  to  Roosevelt  street,  and  Front  and 
Water  street  with  wholesale  grocers  and  commission  merchants.  Pearl 
street  was  "the  peculiar  and  favorite  resort  of  wholesale  drygoods  mer- 
chants, earthenware  dealers,  etc.,"  from  Coenties  Slip  to  Peck  Slip.  The 
auction  stores  were  also  here,  as  well  as  in  Wall  street,  between  Pearl 
and  Water  streets.  Broadway  was  the  "handsomest  street  and  the  greatest 
thoroughfare."  It  ran  from  "the  Battery  to  Tenth  street,  was  three  miles 
in  length  and  eighty  feet  in  breadth,"  and  contained  similar  businesses  to 
those  of  the  present  day,  with  four  Episcopal  churches,  a  hospital,  the 
Masonic  Hall,  two  museums  and  the  City  Hall.  From  the  City  Hall  Park 
to  Astor  Place  was  called  St.  George  street,  or  Great  George  street,  up  to 
the  close  of  the  last  century,  and  was  later  commonly  spoken  of  as  the 
Middle  Road.  Maiden  Lane,  from  Broadway  to  William  street,  and  William 
street,  from  Liberty  street  to  Beekman  street,   and  Chatham  street,   from 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  89 

the  park  eastward,  were  occupied  principally  by  retail  dry  and  fancy 
goods  stores,  as  was  Canal  street,  west  of  Broadway.  Ferry  and  Jacob 
streets  to-day  fulfil  the  same  mission  as  in  1825,  but  Water  street  was  the 
fur  district,  and  Broad  street  that  of  cabinet  and  chair  makers. 

When  the  century  had  attained  middle  age,  people  of  wealth  began 
to  build  their  homes  away  from  the  encroachment  of  business,  and  Bond, 
Bleecker  and  Great  Jones  streets  became  fashionable  centres.  Later  Wash- 
ington Square  became  a  centre  of  social  activity,  instead  of  what  it  formerly 
was,  a  place  of  death,  and  one  finds  among  its  inhabitants  the  names  of 
people  of  substance,  such  as  the  Alsops,  the  Rhinelanders,  the  Leroys,  the 
Minturns  and  the  Robinsons.  An  exclusive  set  gathered  around  St.  John's 
Church,  in  Varick  street,  and  here  Alexander  Hamilton,  General  Schuyler, 
the  Delafields,  the  Lords,  the  Lydigs  and  other  notables  built  substantial 
houses  and  converted  the  waste  land  and  sand  dunes  into  St.  John's  Park, 
"a  spot  beautiful  to  behold." 

But  as  to  Broadway.  As  was  told  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  hotels 
were  all  at  the  lower  end  of  this  thoroughfare,  with  the  City  Hall  Park  as 
their  centre,  and  there  was  nothing  to  speak  of  above  Union  Square.  Coun- 
try seats  of  exclusives  adorned  Sandy  Hill,  at  the  upper  end  of  Broadway, 
and  solid  brownstone  and  brick  mansions  clustered  around  the  little  park 
at  the  junction  of  Bowery  Lane  and  the  Middle  Road,  now  Union  Square. 
From  University  Place  and  Thirteenth  street  an  unobstructed  view  could  be 
had  of  the  East  River  or  of  the  Hudson.  Where  the  Wanamaker  store  is 
to-day  was  the  Elliot  estate,  afterward  the  property  of  Captain  Randall, 
who  deeded  it  to  the  Sailor's  Snug  Harbor.  Adjoining  it  to  the  north  was 
the  Brevoort  estate,  the  owner  of  which  resisted  "with  Dutch  stubbornness 
a  contemplated  cutting  through  of  Eleventh  street  from  Broadway  to  the 
Bowery,  and  won  his  fight,  leaving  Eleventh  street  ending  at  Fourth  ave- 
nue and  beginning  again  west  of  Broadway." 

When  the  farmhouse  of  Henry  Spingler,  with  its  twenty-two  acres 
west  of  the  Bowery  Road,  stood  within  the  limits  of  the  present  Union 
Square,  an  attempt  was  made,  so  the  writer  was  told  by  an  old  New  Yorker, 
to  have  Broadway  meet  in  a  straight  course  the  Bloomingdale  Road  at  the 
north  of  the  square.  So  much  resistance  was  offered  to  the  scheme  by  the 
holder  of  the  property  that  the  direction  of  the  thoroughfare  was  changed 
at  Tenth  street,  and  still  further  deflected  at  Fourteenth  street. 

Broadway  was  an  accident,  anyway,  according  to  all  authority.  "Orig- 
inally it  was  supposed  that  the  city's  main  artery  of  travel  would  turn  to 
the  east  of  the  Commons  and  follow  the  old  Boston  Road,  and  provision 
was  made  to  that  end.  Business  for  a  long  time  insisted  upon  turning  to 
the  east  of  the  street  at  City  Hall  Park,  and  owners  of  property  were  deter- 
mined to  keep  the  west  side  sacred  to  residences.  But  it  was  not  to  be  so. 
Pearl  street  ceased  to  absorb  the  drygoods  trade  over  half  a  century  ago,  and 
when  A.  T.  Stewart  spread  his  drygoods  nets  on  the  'shilling  side'  of  Broad- 
way that  settled  it."     The  chronology: 

In  1788  Trinity  Church  was  rebuilt,  and  the  New  Vork  Society  Library 
was  kept  in  a  room  in  the  City  Hall.  On  June  17  the  New  York  State 
Convention,  called  to  consider  the  adoption  of  the  federal  Constitution,  met 
at  Poughkeepsie.     Among  the   delegates  from   New   York   were   Hamilton, 


90  CRADLE    DAYS     OP    NEW     YORK. 

Jay,  R.  R.  Livingston,  Isaac  Roosevelt  and  James  Duane.  Through  the 
work  done  by  these  men  at  the  convention  federal  union  was  declared  by 
a  majority  of  three  against  confederation  on  July  26,  17S8.  The  city  did 
not  wait  until  this  date  to  celebrate  the  establishment  of  the  federal  Re- 
public, but  three  days  before  it  became  a  fact  "held  a  monster  demonstration 
to  illustrate  emphatically  their  sentiments." 

September  13,  1788,  saw  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  publicly  de- 
clared and  the  city  selected  as  the  seat  of  the  general  government.  The 
City  Hall,  in  Wall  street,  was  falling  into  decay,  and  the  exhausted  city 
treasury  was  unable  to  furnish  the  means  to  make  the  necessary  alterations. 
But  willing  purses  were  opened  by  a  uvimber  of  New  York's  M'^ealthy  men, 
and  $65,000  was  advanced  to  put  it  in  order.  Major  L'Enfant,  a  French 
engineer,  M^as  engaged,  and  under  his  direction  the  old  building  became 
practically  a  new  structure,  and  was  reported  ready  for  the  occupation  of 
Congress  on  March  3,  1789,  one  day  before  the  date  set  by  the  new  Con- 
stitution for  it  to  meet.  The  members  were  dilatory,  however,  and  on 
March  4  "only  a  handful  of  them  made  their  appearance,  severely  testing 
the  patience  of  those  who  attended."  The  roads  were  bad  in  those  days, 
railroads  and  steamboats  were  unknown,  packets  and  stages  few,  "and 
punctuality  was  regarded  as  a  thing  of  minor  importance."  Unable  to 
transact  business  through  lack  of  a  quorum,  those  present  issued  a  circular 
letter  to  the  absentees,  imploring  them  to  attend.  It  was  not  until  April 
6,  however,  that  a  quorum  was  procured,  when  both  houses  assembled  in 
the  Senate  Chamber,  opened  and  read  the  votes,  made  out  two  Ifsts,  and,  the 
House  of  Representatives  withdrawing  to  its  chamber  and  counting  the 
votes,  declared  George  Washington  unanimously  elected  as  the  country's 
first  President,  with  John  Adams  as  Vice-President.  Adams  arrived  in  New 
York  on  April  21,  and  was  met  at  the  boundary  line  by  Governor  Clinton, 
with  a  military  escort,  and  conducted  to  Kingsbridge,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  and  accompanied  to  the 
City  Hall  by  several  companies  of  militia.  Here  he  delivered  his  inaugural 
address.  He  resided  at  No.  133  Broadway,  the  house  of  John  Jay,  until 
the  completion  of  his  Richmond  Hill  residence. 

On  April  23,  1789,  after  a  triumphal  journey  of  seven  days  from  Mount 
Vernon,  Washington  arrived  at  Elizabeth  Town.  A  barge,  handsomely 
decorated  and  rowed  by  thirteen  pilots,  commanded  by  Captain  Thomas 
Randall,  took  him  on  board,  and,  escorted  by  other  barges  filled  with 
eminent  personages,  a  committee  of  Congress,  Chancellor  Livingston  and 
Recorder  Varick,  landed  him  at  Murray's  Wharf,  at  the  foot  of  Wall  street. 
Salutes  were  fired  and  cheers  rent  the  air  as  Washington  stepped  ashore, 
and,  refusing  the  use  of  a  carriage  which  had  been  provided  for  him, 
walked  with  Governor  Clinton  up  Wall  street  to  Pearl  street  (then  Queen), 
and  to  the  Franklin  House,  on  the  corner  of  Cherry  street,  which  had  been 
prepared  for  him  as  a  residence.  This  house  was  formerly  occupied  by 
Samuel  Osgood.  In  the  old  De  Peyster  house,  in  Queen  street,  opposite 
Cedar,  Governor  Clinton  resided,  and  here  Washington  v/as  dined  and 
entertained.  In  the  evening  the  streets  were  crowded,  and  demonstra- 
tions were  held  in  his  honor.  The  city  was  splendidly  illuminated,  and 
brilliant  displays  of  fireworks  took  place. 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    SEW     YORK.  91 

The  Federal  Hall  was  not  yet  finished,  and  a  week  elapsed  before 
the  arrangements  for  the  Inauguration  could  be  completed,  so  that  exactly 
seven  days  after  his  arrival,  or  on  Thursday,  April  30,  1789,  Washington 
was  inaugurated  the  first  President  of  the  United  States,  and  with  the 
ceremony  the  "capstone  was  placed  on  a  superstructure  of  independence 
whose  foundation  stones  were  laid  in  the  blood  of  patriots."  Where  the 
colossal  bronze  statue  of  Washington  stands  on  the  steps  of  the  Sub-Treas- 
ury Building,  the  first  President  of  the  United  States  took  his  oath  of  office. 
"It  was  one  of  the  most  august  and  interesting  spectacles  ever  exhibited  on 
this  globe,"  says  a  spectator.  "It  seemed  from  the  number  of  witnesses 
to  be  a  solemn  appeal  to  heaven  and  earth  at  once."  After  the  inauguration 
and  the  reading  of  his  Inaugural  Address  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  the  Presi- 
dent and  Congress  attended  services  in  St.  Paul's  Church.  A  month  later 
Mrs.  Washington  arrived,  escorted  from  Elizabeth  Town  by  the  same  barge 
and  crevr  of  pilots  that  had  accompanied  the  general.    She  landed  at  Peck  Slip. 

On  May  28  the  President  gave  his  first  dinner,  and  the  next  day  Mrs. 
Washington  held  her  first  reception,  "a  simple  and  unostentatious  cere- 
mony." During  the  first  session  of  Congress  the  President  occupied  the 
Cherry  street  house,  the  new  Presidential  mansion,  to  make  room  for  which 
the  old  fort  had  been  levelled  in  17S7,  not  being  completed.  Indeed,  Con- 
gress had  removed  when  it  was  completed,  and  it  became  the  residence 
of  Governor  Clinton,  and  was  afterward  transformed  into  the  Custom 
House.  In  1790  Washington  occupied  the  Macomb  house,  at  Xo.  3  9  Broad- 
way, his  last  place  of  residence  in  New  York. 

Custis,  in  his  "Recollections  and  Private  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and 
Character  of  Washington,"  says  that  the  chief  tendency  toward  luxury  in 
the  whole  executive  establishment  was  shown  in  the  horses,  "which  were 
remarkably  fine,  and  were  groomed  with  scrupulous  care."  In  all  else  "the 
establishment  savored  of  republican  simplicity." 

In  the  evening  Washington  visited  at  intervals  the  theatre  in  John 
street,  the  only  one  in  the  city  at  that  time.  It  had  been  erected  during 
the  occupation  of  the  British,  and  was  used  by  the  officers  for  amateur 
theatricals.  This  theatre  "was  so  small  that  the  whole  fabric  might  easily 
have  been  placed  on  the  stage  of  some  of  our  modern  theatres,"  says  Custis 
in  the  recollections  and  memoirs  above  noted.  "Boxes  were  set  apart  for  the 
President  and  Vice-Pi^esident,  and  the  playbills  were  inscribed  "Vivat  Repub- 
lica.'  Among  several  players  of.  merit  was  Morris,  an  associate  of  Garrick 
in  the  beginning  of  his  career."  An  authority  says  that  the  national  air  of 
that  day,  "Hail,  Columbia,"  composed  by  a  German  musician  named  Fyles 
in  compliment  to  the  President,  was  first  played  here. 

Before  leaving  this  interesting  part  of  the  city's  history,  let  it  be 
known  that  the  citizens  of  New  York  in  the  old  days,  unlike  the  citizens  of 
to-day,  were  grateful  to  the  person  who  performed  properly  any  work  of  the 
municipality.  For  superintending  the  enlarging  and  repairing  of  the  City 
Hall  for  use  of  the  Congress  "Mayor  L'Enfant  received  the  thanks  of  the 
corporation,  the  freedom  of  the  city,  and  was  offered  a  lot  of  ten  acres  of 
the  public  land  near  Provost's  lane,  or  street  (now  Franklin  street),  but 
politely  declined  the  same."  Twelve  years  after,  on  January  26,  1801. 
"Major   L'Enfant,   who   had   declined   any   pecuniary   compensation   or   the 


92  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

ten  acres  of  land,     .     .     .     now  applied  for  a  sum,   and   the  corporation 
awarded  him  $750,  which  was  refused." 

Broadway  was  "opened  through  the  Fort  to  the  Battery"  in  1789,  and 
the  market  fees  were  £580.  Here  are  interesting  items  for  real  estate  men: 
"Ninety-one  acres  of  the  Commons  sold  for  £2,409  to  T.  Buchanan  and 
others,"  and  on  December  4  "a  house  and  lot,  corner  of  Broad  and  Wall 
streets,  was  purchased  by  the  corporation  for  £45  0."  Richard  Varick 
became  Mayor  on  October  14,  and  continued  so  until  August  24,  1801.  Sam- 
uel Jones,  afterward  Chancellor,  assumed  the  office  of  Recorder.  The 
salary  of  the  Mayor  "was  commuted  for  £600  per  annum." 

Colonel  Richard  Varick  was  made  City  Recorder  after  the  evacuation  of 
the  British.  He  was  a  popular  lawyer  of  the  city,  and  had  won  the  title 
of  colonel  in  the  service  of  Schuyler  in  the  Northern  army.  After  witness- 
ing the  battles  of  Stillwater  and  Saratoga  and  the  defeat  of  Burgoyne,  he 
had  been  aide-de-camp  to  Benedict  Arnold  until  the  discovery  of  his 
treason,  after  which  he  had  served  Washington  as  secretary  until  the  close 
of  the  war. 

The  young  city  was  struggling  this  year  to  establish  a  financial  credit, 
and  as  a  first  move  the  corporation  issued  £1,000  of  paper  money  for  public 
accommodation,  in  one,  two  and  three  penny  bills.  Money  was  also  raised 
by  lottery,  the  system  for  the  carrying  on  of  which  was  given  in  a  previous' 
chapter  of  this  chronology. 

Since  the  close  of  the  war  Indian  affairs  had  been  in  an  unsettled  state 
along  the  Western  and  Southern  frontiers,  and  on  July  15,  1790,  twenty- 
eight  Creek  Indians  arrived  to  confer  with  Congress  regarding  a  new  treaty. 
The  Indians,  led  by  a  halfbreed  named  McGillivray,  who  had  been  educated 
by  his  father,  a  Scotchman,  in  the  best  schools  of  Charleston,  complained 
of  the  encroachments  of  the  whites  upon  their  boundaries.  They  formed 
an  alliance  with  the  Spaniards  in  Florida,  and  carried  on  war  with  great 
success,  severely  harassing  the  whites.  Congress  at  its  first  session  dispatched 
commissioners  to  the  scene  of  the  contest  to  adjust  the  boundaries  in  dis- 
pute, but,  while  they  were  well  received  by  McGillivray,  they  effected 
nothing  but  a  temporary  suspension  of  hostilities.  Marinus  Willett,  dis- 
guised as  a  trader,  was  sent  the  following  year  by  Washington  to  open  new 
negotiations.  After  sounding  the  disposition  of  the  natives,  he  threw  off 
his  disguise  and  avowed  his  errand,  with  the  result  that  McGillivray  con- 
sented to  come  to  New  York  with  selected  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  nation. 
The  Tammany  Society,  arrayed  in  Indian  costume,  met  them  and  escorted 
them  to  a  tavern  on  the  banks  of  the  North  River,  afterward  known  as  the 
Indian  Queen.  After  six  weeks  General  Knox,  the  commissioner  appointed 
by  Washington,  negotiated  the  terms  of  a  treaty  with  them,  which  was 
afterward  ratified  in  Federal  Hall,  in  Wall  street,  on  August  13.  The  visit 
of  the  Indians  closed  the  official  career  of  New  York  as  the  capital  city  of 
the  nation.     Shortly  after  the  present  capital  was  selected. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


(1790-1791.) 


Arrival  of  Jenny  Lind — Narrative  of  Her  Reception  and  Success — Salary  of 

the  Mayor  in  1790 — Final  Location  of  Seat  of  Government 

— Plague  of  Yellow  Fever. 

In  the  crowded  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  when  the  season  for 
1908-1909  was  opened,  the  writer  was  asked  by  an  octogenarian  patron 
of  music  if  he  could  estimate  the  number  of  persons  present  who,  on 
September  12,  1850,  heard  "the  greatest  singer  we  have  ever  had,"  Jenny 
Lind.  Believing  ten  to  be  a  fair  estimate,  the  writer  was  greatly  aston- 
ished when  told  by  his  informant  that  there  were  not  five  individuals 
known  to  him  in  that  vast  assemblage  who  had  listened  to  the  Swedish 
nightingale  upon  her  first  appearance  in  this  country.  As  that  occasion 
marked  an  epoch  in  the  annals  of  America's  musical  history,  a  brief  descrip- 
tion of  the  arrival  and  reception  of  this  famous  queen  of  song  is  here 
given. 

In  these  days,  when  the  fashions  change  with  every  season;  when  the 
phrase  "goes  like  the  wind"  implies  a  snail's  pace;  when  the  mile-a-minute 
record  has  been  eclipsed,  a  period  of  fifty  years  is  as  yesterday.  And  yet 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  are  very  few  New  Yorkers  alive  to-day  who  in 
1850  were  old  enough  to  appreciate  what  that  welcome  to  Jenny  Lind  on 
September  12,  1850,  meant.  She  was  called  the  "Fair-haired  Saga-Singer," 
the  "Child  of  Valhall"  and  "Blue-eyed  Vala,"  in  a  "Norranic  welcome"  to 
her,  written  by  F.  J.  Ottarson,  which  appeared  in  The  New  York  Daily 
Tribune  of  Monday,  September  2,  1850,  the  first  verse  of  which  is  here 
given: 

Blue-eyed  Vala!  Bragi's  daughter! 

Sped  from  Cambria's  bardic  shore, 
Ymer's  azure  tears  of  slaughter 

Proudly  blush  to  bear  thee  o'er; 
On  thy  great  heimskringla  going 

Trolla  before  thy  path  shall  flee; 
Agir's  children,  homage  showing. 

Smooth  the  throbbings  of  the  sea; 
Himmiglaefa  down  from  heaven 

Bows  her  cloud  invading  head, 
Drifa  now  to  slumber  given 

Keeps  the  night  watch  of  the  dead; 
Blothughadda,  Hefring,  Hravnn, 

Hush  the  surging  of  the  main; 
Bylga,  Uthr,  Kolga,  Drafn, 

Laugh  and  dimple  in  thy  train. 

93 


94  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

Jenny  Lind  sailed  from  Liverpool  on  the  steamer  Atlantic  on  August 
24,  1850.  For  upward  of  two  miles  the  docks  and  piers  were  crowded 
to  excess  with  all  classes  to  witness  the  departure  of  their  great  favorite. 
It  was  estimated  that  not  fewer  than  sixty  thousand  people  were  assembled. 
Salutes  were  fired  from  the  batteries  and  piers,  all  the  vessels  in  the  river 
were  dressed  in  gay  flags,  and  every  demonstration  imaginable  was  dis- 
played on  the  occasion.  On  the  voyage  the  singer  gave  her  services  at  a 
concert  for  the  benefit  of  the  sailors  and  firemen,  which  netted  a  large  sum. 
On  Sunday,  September  1,  she  arrived  at  the  Canal  street  pier,  in  this  city, 
and  found  a  triumphal  arch,  hung  with  flags,  a  silent  greeting  to  her  from 
the  people  of  New  York.  It  was  1  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  P.  T. 
Barnum  and  Theodore  Eisfeldt,  who  were  awaiting  her  arrival  at  Quaran- 
tine, heard  two  guns  in  the  direction  of  Sandy  Hook,  and  shortly  after  saw 
the  signal  flag  of  a  steamer  run  up  at  the  telegraph  station  at  Clifton. 
Amid  the  firing  of  salutes  from  the  Atlantic,  they,  with  Dr.  A.  Sidney 
Doane,  Health  Officer  of  the  Port,  boarded  her,  and  were  greeted  by  Jenny 
Lind,  Jules  Benedict,  a  distinguished  composer,  and  Signor  Giovanni  Belleti, 
a  celebrated  basso.  Jenny  Lind  was  then  about  twenty-nine  years  old, 
slightly  robust  in  face  and  person,  with  light  blue,  joyous  eyes  and  pale 
brown  hair.  Her  companions  were  men  between  thirty  and  thirty-five  years 
old;  one,  Mr.  Benedict,  a  German,  and  the  other  a  Genoese.  As  the  vessel 
neared  the  Canal  street  pier  between  thirty  and  forty  thousand  persons 
were  congregated  on  the  adjacent  piers  and  on  the  roofs.  The  spars  and 
rigging  of  vessels,  the  bulkheads  along  the  wharves  and  every  spot  com- 
manding a  sight  were  crowded.  Noting  the  respectability  of  the  thousands 
of  people  assembled,  Jenny  Lind  turned  to  Mr.  Barnum  and  asked:  "Have 
you  no  poor  people  in  your  country?  Every  one  here  appears  to  be  well 
dressed."  The  diva,  as  she  walked  down  the  gangway,  passed  under  tri- 
umphal arches  of  evergreens  and  flowers.  The  first  arch  fronting  the 
water  bore  the  inscription,  "Welcome  to  Jenny  Lind,"  and  the  second, 
"Jenny  Lind,  Welcome  to  America,"  in  large  letters  around  the  span. 
"The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  as  the  singer  took  her  seat  in  the  carriage 
provided  for  her  by  P.  T.  Barnum  has  never  been  surpassed,"  said  the 
writer's  opera  acquaintance.  "The  people  literally  heaped  the  carriage 
with  flowers  as  she  passed  along,  and  bouquets  were  thrown  into  the 
windows."  Once  clear  of  the  throng,  the  carriage  was  driven  rapidly  to 
the  Irving  House,  at  Broadway  and  Chambers  street,  where  the  great  flag 
of  Sweden  and  Norway  greeted  her  from  the  flagstaff. 

After  11  o'clock  that  night  the  crowd  began  to  gather  again  to  witness 
the  serenade  of  the  Musical  Fund  Society  at  midnight.  Two  hundred  musi- 
cians made  their  appearance  at  the  appointed  time,  and  played  national 
airs  under  the  singer's  window.  A  company  of  firemen,  in  their  red  shirts, 
stationed  themselves,  with  their  tall  lanterns,  on  Broadway,  fronting  Jenny 
Lind's  apartments,  and  made  a  picturesque  part  of  the  scene.  The  singer's 
appearance  at  the  window  was  the  signal  for  a  storm  of  shouts  and  cheers 
that  has  never  been  equalled. 

On  the  day  following  her  arrival  Jenny  Lind  received  more  than 
five  hundred  of  the  guests  of  the  Irving  House,  and,  while  the  demonstra- 
tion was  less  boisterous  than  that  of  Sunday,  it  was  not  lacking  in  warmth. 


CRADLE     DAYS     OF     N  E^V     YUkix.  95 

"The  magnetism  of  a  warm,  true  and  benevolent  heart  was  never  more 
strikingly  shown  than  on  this  occasion,"  says  the  writer's  acquaintance. 

Invitations,  visits  and  gifts  of  all  kinds  were  showered  upon  Jenny 
Lind  to  an  embarrassing  degree.  Hats,  gloves,  handkerchiefs,  bouquets 
"two  feet  high;"  a  riding  habit,  gloves  and  whip;  a  handsome  lithograph 
containing  her  portrait  and  those  of  Benedict  and  Belleti,  surrounded  by 
an  emblematic  border,  the  work  of  Napoleon  Sarony,  at  that  time  in  Fulton 
street,  were  a  few  of  the  evidences  of  the  esteem  in  which  she  was  held 
by  the  people. 

On  Thursday,  September  5,  1850,  a  new  contract  v/as  ratified  between 
P.  T.  Barnum  and  Jenny  Lind,  according  to  which  the  singer  was  to  receive 
$1,000  a  night  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  nights,  in  addition  to  which  the  net 
proceeds  of  every  night  were  to  be  divided  equally.  As  an  equivalent  for 
this  offer  on  the  part  of  P.  T.  Barnum,  Jenny  Lind  agreed  to  sing  in  any 
part  of  Europe  or  America,  and  bound  herself  to  give  concerts  in  New  York 
City  until  the  price  of  tickets  should  be  brought  down  to  the  minimum  rate 
of  $3,  "so  that  the  fairest  opportunity  of  hearing  shall  be  afforded  the 
public."  At  Castle  Garden  on  Saturday,  September  7,  the  auction  sale  of 
tickets  for  Jenny  Lind's  first  concert  was  held.  Henry  H.  Leeds  was  the 
auctioneer,  and  the  first  ticket  was  bought  by  John  N.  Genin,  a  hatter  at 
No.  214  Broadway,  for  $22-5.  Fourteen  hundred  seats  were  sold  at  this 
day's  auction,  at  an  average  of  $6.50  a  seat.  It  was  estimated  by  this 
day's  sale  that  Jenny  Lind's  manager  would  realize  $30,000  on  the  first 
concert  in  America. 

The  first  rehearsal  took  place  on  Monday,  September  10,  and  following 
is  the  description  of  an  eye-witness:  "I  arrived  too  late  to  hear  the  "Casta 
Diva,'  but  heard  her  singing  with  Signor  Belleti  the  duo  from  'I  Turchi  in 
Italia.'  Before  it  was  over  I  had  almost  entered  another  world.  I  hardly 
believed  that  the  human  voice  could  accomplish  what  the  Swedish  vocalist 
made  palpable  to  my  ear.  Such  perfect  execution,  such  invariably  true, 
even  correct  intonation,  such  natural  expression  in  all  the  middle  and 
lower  register  of  her  voice,  I  never  heard  before.  The  nightingale  did  not 
pour  out  its  melody  with  more  ease,  its  notes  did  not  gush  forth  with  more 
freedom  and  correctness,  according  to  Nature's  pitch  and  scale,  than  did 
Jenny  Lind's  according  to  Art's  strictest  rules.  In  the  'Trio  Concertante,' 
for  two  flutes  and  voice,  the  orchestra  came  to  a  dead  stop.  They  had  been 
listening  to  the  vocalist  and  forgot  their  parts  and  all  else." 

Another  incident  occurred  during  the  "Trio"  which  is  worth  notice, 
says  an  authority.  "At  a  pause  the  bell  of  a  steamboat  at  the  landing 
near  by  struck  thrice,  and  happened  to  strike  at  the  exact  pauses  in  her 
song.  At  first  the  people  thought  it  was  an  orchestral  effect,  so  perfectly 
did  its  clear  tones  harmonize  with  the  voice  of  the  songstress.  The  bell 
happened  to  be  exactly  in  tune  and  striking  the  same  note  with  her,  and  the 
echo  at  first  deceived  all  the  listeners." 

In  order  to  p-revent  confusion  on  the  night  of  the  concert,  Wednesday, 
September  11,  1850,  the  Inspector  of  Hacks  ordered  that  carriages  enter 
"the  large  gate  at  the  corner  of  State  street  and  Whitehall,  and  pass  out 
through  the  gate  in  Battery  Place,  at  the  head  of  Greenwich  street."  At 
the  close  of  the  concert  the  same  order  was  to  be  preserved. 


96  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

"The  first  concert  is  over,  and  all  doubts  are  at  an  end,"  says  a  New 
York  paper  of  September  12,  1850.  "She  is  the  greatest  singer  we  have 
ever  heard.  When  Jenny  Lind,  clad  in  white,  came  forward  through  the 
orchestra,  the  vast  assembly  rose  as  one  man,  and  nothing  could  be  seen  but 
the  waving  of  hands  and  handkerchiefs,  nothing  heard  but  a  storm  of 
tumultuous  cheers.  The  enthusiasm  was  at  last  subdued,  and  the  divine 
songstress,  with  half  trembling  womanly  modesty  blended  with  childlike 
simplicity,  addressed  herself  to  song  as  the  orchestral  symphony  prepared 
the  way  for  the  voice  in  'Casta  Diva.'  If  it  were  possible,  we  would  describe 
the  quality  of  that  voice,  so  pure,  so  sweet,  so  fine,  so  whole  and  all  per- 
vading in  its  lowest  breathings  and  minutest  florituri,  as  well  as  in  its 
strongest  volume.  We  never  heard  tones  which  in  their  sweetness  went  so 
far,  and  the  whole  air  had  to  take  the  law  of  their  vibrations.  Hers  is  a 
genuine  soprano,  reaching  the  extra  high  notes  with  that  ease  and  cer- 
tainty which  make  each  highest  one  a  triumph  of  expression  purely  and 
not  a  physical  marvel.  All  the  points  one  looks  for  in  a  mistress  of  the 
vocal  art  were  eminently  hers  in  'Casta  Diva.'  Her  whole  soul  and  being 
goes  out  in  her  song,  which  has  won  the  world  to  Jenny  Lind." 

-  The  "National  Prize  Song,"  written  by  Bayard  Taylor  and  set  to 
music  by  Jules  Benedict,  was  sung  that  night,  and  was  loudly  encored. 
After  the  performance  cheer  after  cheer  rent  the  air,  and  amid  the  enthu- 
siasm P.  T.  Barnum  appeared  on  the  stage  and  announced  that  Jenny  Lind 
had  informed  him  on  the  Monday  preceding  her  first  concert  that  she  would 
give  her  share  of  the  receipts  to  various  charities  in  the  city;  that  as  her 
share  of  the  net  proceeds  of  the  concert  just  ended  amounted  to  $10,000,  he 
would  read  a  list  of  her  donations,  which  he  did.  So  ended  the  night  of 
Jenny  Lind's  first  concert  in  America — the  greatest  triumph  of  her  life. 
This  is  a  long  introduction  to  the  chronology,  but  it  is  of  interest  as  show- 
ing the  musical  enthusiasm  of  1850,  compared  with  that  of  1909. 

In  1790  the  salary  of  the  Mayor  was  made  $700  a  year  and  a  census  of 
the  city  ordered  taken.  On  its  completion  on  December  11  it  showed 
29,906  persons.      The  expense  entailed  in  taking  it  was  fl55  5s  6d. 

In  this  year  the  country  was  in  a  ferment  regarding  a  permanent 
location  for  the  seat  of  government.  The  Eastern  States  preferred  New 
York,  Pennsylvania  clamored  for  its  return  to  Philadelphia,  the  people 
of  New  Jersey  petitioned  for  its  removal  to  the  shores  of  the  Delaware, 
while  the  Southern  States  urged  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  as  the  central 
location.  An  amicable  arrangement  was  finally  effected,  and  December, 
1800,  was  fixed  as  the  date  of  the  opening  session  of  Congress  at  the  capital 
city  of  Washington,  in  "the  new  District  of  Columbia." 

On  August  30  of  this  year  President  Washington  and  his  wife  left 
New  York  without  ceremony,  embarking  on  their  barge  at  Macomb's  Wharf, 
on  the  North  River.  It  was  the  last  time  the  general  looked  upon  the 
city. 

"January  2,  1791 — Severe  winter.  Supplies  of  wood  given  to  the 
poor."  The  exports  this  year  from  New  York  to  foreign  ports  amounted  to 
$2,505,465.  On  February  25  "the  freedom  of  the  city  was  awarded  to 
Major  General  Horatio  Gates,  the  hero  of  Saratoga  and  the  capturer  of 
Burgoyne." 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  97 

The  corporation  on  March  21  ordered  a  further  issue  of  paper  money, 
"and  one,  two  and  three  penny  notes  were  placed  in  circulation  for  city 
change."  It  also  ordered  that  "the  city  lamps  be  114  feet  apart,  angu- 
larly," and  "that  Bedlow's  Island  be  leased  out  for  twenty-eight  years,  at 
£10  per  annum."     On  October  4  the  city  was  divided  into  seven  wards. 

In  the  autumn  of  1791  yellow  fever  broke  out  in  the  vicinity  of  Burling 
Slip.  "Though  soon  checked  in  its  ravages  by  the  approach  of  frost,  it 
excited  a  panic  among  the  inhabitants,  and  several  well-known  citizens 
died,  among  them  General  Malcolm,  of  Revolutionary  fame."  In  1795  it 
again  made  its  appearance,  and  raged  with  virulence  from  August  until  the 
end  of  the  season.  Seven  hundred  and  thirty-five  citizens  died  from  its 
effects.  The  worst  visit  of  the  plague  was  in  1798,  when  most  of  the 
churches  were  closed,  and  for  "many  weeks  the  hearses  were  undisputed 
possessors  of  the  city's  streets."  Neighboring  States  came  to  the  relief 
of  the  city,  and  contributions  of  money,  provisions  and  fuel  poured  into  her. 
Over  2,100  deaths  occurred  in  a  population  of  55,000.  The  fever  broke 
out  with  violence  at  different  periods  for  several  years,  but  the  government 
mastered  it  eventually  in  new  sanitary  regulations. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


(1791-1794.) 


History  of  Education  in  New  York — Work  of  Public  School  Society — Begin- 
ning of  Board  of  Education — Revival  of  Public  Improve- 
ments— Fresh  Water  Pond. 

The  history  of  education  in  New  York  dates  from  1629,  when  the  West 
Indies  Company,  under  whose  charge  the  first  Dutch  colonists  came  to  the 
city,  enacted  a  law  which  required  the  establishment  of  schools.  Four 
years  later  the  first  school  was  opened,  and  in  1652  the  first  public  school 
came  into  being,  and  was  established  in  the  City  Hall.  After  the  English 
obtained  possession  of  the  colony  education  suffered  for  a  few  years  because 
of  the  conflict  in  languages,  the  Dutch  adhering  to  the  language  of  their_ 
mother  country.  The  English  established  many  schools,  and  church  and 
state  united  in  their  support.  No  charge  was  made  directly  for  tuition.  In 
1704  a  society  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  began  the  work  of  establish- 
ing schools  in  the  English  language,  and  in  1732  an  act  was  passed  to 
establish  a  public  school  in  the  city.  Early  in  1748  two  schools  were 
erected,  one  by  Trinity,  in  Rector  street,  and  another  by  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  in  what  is  now  Exchange  Place.  Many  private  educational  institu- 
tions existed,  some  of  them  under  the  jurisdiction  of  religious  bodies  and 
depending  on  them  for  support.  "It  may  be  stated,"  says  an  authority, 
"that,  so  far  from  retrograding  toward  barbarism,  the  people  of  the  colonies 
previous  to  their  independence  were  securing  for  their  children  more  educa- 
tion than  the  people  of  any  other  contemporaneous  country,  and  this  was 
exceptionally  true  of  New  England,  whose  population  was  better  educated 
then  than  any  other  in  the  world."  In  educational  force  New  England 
antedated  New  York  by  nine  years,  as  the  first  act  of  the  Plymouth  colonists 
was  to  provide  a  meeting  house  for  religious  purposes  and  a  schoolhouse 
for  the  children.  In  1754  King's  College,  now  Columbia  University,  was 
founded. 

New  York  at  first  encouraged  private  schools,  and  when  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  University  of  New  York  was  created,  in  1784,  its  chief 
function  for  many  years  was  to  encourage  academies  and  colleges.  It  is  to 
the  credit  of  that  board,  however,  that  it  presented  to  the  legislature  many 
propositions  for  the  founding  of  a  school  system  which  would  tend  to  the 
establishment  of  common  schools.  In  1795  Governor  Clinton  urged  the 
creation  of  the  New  England  type  of  common  schools,  and  through  the 
legislature  a  fund  was  created  for  the  successful  carrying  out  of  the  scheme. 
In  1797  free  schools  were  established  in  the  State. 

The  progress  of  the  free  school  movement  toward  New  York  City  was 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  99 

slow,  however,  and  old  ideas  of  teaching  only  children  whose  parents  were 
affiliated  with  the  different  religious  bodies  caused  the  education  of  many 
of  them  to  be  neglected.  Public-spirited  citizens  desirous  of  providing 
means  for  the  education  of  neglected  children  called  a  meeting  in  1805  to 
consider  the  question,  and  shortly  after  petitioned  the  legislature  for  per- 
mission to  incorporate  a  society  having  for  its  object  "the  establishment 
of  a  free  school  for  the  education  of  poor  children  who  do  not  belong  to 
or  are' not  provided  for  by  any  religious  society."  On  April  9,  1805,  the 
petition  was  granted  by  the  legislature  and  the  society  duly  incorporated. 

Money  was  needed  for  carrying  on  the  project,  and  was  to  be  sought 
privately,  so  that  it  was  not  until  May  19,  1806,  that  the  society  saw  the 
fulfilment  of  its  benevolent  scheme,  when  apartments  were  rented  in  a 
house  on  what  is  now  Madison  street,  and  the  school  begun.  So  anxious 
were  the  people  to  take  advantage  of  the  work  of  benevolence  for  the 
education  of  their  children  that  it  was  only  a  short  time  after  the  school's 
establishment  when  it  was  overcrowded,  and  larger  quarters  were  sought. 
Through  the  generosity  of  Colonel  Henry  Rutgers,  two  lots  in  Henry  street 
were  given  to  the  society,  and  a  portion  of  the  excise  moneys  was  set  aside 
by  the  legislature  for  the  erection  of  a  building  on  them.  Pending  the 
completion  of  the  Henry  street  school,  the  corporation  presented  to  the 
society  a  building  in  Chambers  street,  and  donated  $500  to  put  it  in  repair. 
By  1809  it  had  become  too  small  to  accommodate  the  pupils,  and  a  new 
school  was  erected  in  Chatham  street.  In  1810  the  cornerstone  of  the 
Henry  street  building  was  laid. 

The  necessity  for  more  schools  became  apparent,  and  in  1811  the 
Trinity  corporation  gave  two  lots  on  the  corner  of  Hudson  and  Grove  streets 
for  a  third  school.  In  1815  and  1819  two  "African  schools"  were  built, 
one  on  ground  in  William  street  given  by  the  corporation,  and  the  other 
by  the  Manumission  Society  on  ground  in  Mulberry  street,  "which  cost 
$2,400."  At  this  time  the  population  of  the  city  was  119,657,  and  in 
1820  had  increased  nearly  3  per  cent,  so  that  an  impetus  was  given  to  the 
building  of  schools.  In  1820  the  Hudson  street  school  (No.  3)  was  ready 
to  receive  pupils,  and  in  1821  No.  4,  in  Rivington  street,  corner  of  Pitt 
street,  was  opened.  In  18  24  No.  5,  in  Mott  street,  between  Spring  and 
Prince,  was  erected,  and  No.  6  was  occupying  the  Almshouse.  The  follow- 
ing year  No.  7,  in  Chrystie  street,  between  Pump  and  Hester  streets,  was 
built,  and  in  1826  No.  8,  in  Grand  street,  between  Laurens  and  Wooster 
streets,  was  opened  to  pupils.  In  1827  three  more  schools  were  opened,  one 
(No.'  9)  at  Bloomingdale,  one  (No.  10)  in  Duane  street,  and  one  (No.  11)  in 
Wooster  street. 

In  1825  the  society  that  had  done  so  much  for  the  youth  of  old  New 
York  changed  its  name  to  the  Public  School  Society,  with  the  object  of 
eliminating  the  idea  of  charity  and  giving  to  the  citizens  that  education 
which  was  considered  theirs  by  right. 

Through  the  operation  of  the  State  law  passed  in  1805,  by  which  the 
proceeds  of  500,000  acres  of  land  were  to  be  accumulated  until  the  income 
should  reach  the  sum  of  $50,000,  which  should  be  applied  to  the  uses 
of  the  schools  of  the  State,  new  measures  were  adopted  for  extending  the 
common  school  system  of  the  State.     In   1819   the  fund  had  reached  the 


100  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

sum  of  $1,200,000,  and  in  1822  a  change  of  the  constitution  made  the 
school  fund  "inviolable  and  inalienable  to  other  purposes."  In  1842  Gov^ 
ernor  Seward  recommended  to  the  legislature  in  his  message  that  a  law 
be  passed  extending  the  common  school  system  of  the  State  to  the  city, 
resulting  in  the  forming  of  the  Board  of  Education  and  the  establishment 
of  a  wise  system — the  separation  of  church  and  state  schools  so  far  as  the 
bestowal  of  State  moneys  went.  The  existence  of  the  old  Public  School 
Society  ceased  in  1853,  and  all  its  rights  and  belongings  passed  to  the  Board 
of  Education.      The  chronology: 

The  spirit  of  public  improvement  began  to  revive  and  the  city  to 
grow  apace  in  1790.  The  first  progressive  step  was  made  in  1791,  when 
"Rutgers'  right  to  fresh  water  pond  (the  site  of  Canal  street)  was  pur- 
chased by  the  corporation  for  iloO."  Two  hundred  years  after  the  Dutch 
traders  landed  on  the  island  that  part  of  the  downtown  district  bounded 
by  Broadway  and  Centre  street  and  Duane  and  Worth  streets  was  a  lake  of 
clear  water.  The  traders  gave  it  the  name  Kalch,  which  was  afterward 
corrupted  into  Collect,  and  later  called  the  Fresh  Water  Pond.  It  was  the 
fishing  ground  of  the  old  New  Yorker,  as  has  been  mentioned  in  a  previous 
chapter.  A  swamp  west  of  the  Collect  and  stretching  away  to  the 
Hudson  River  v/as  held  in  lease  by  Anthony  Rutgers  on  condition  that  he 
should  pay  for  it  "a  moderate  quit  rent,"  and  that  he  should  "clear  it  and 
drain  it  within  a  year."  It  was  a  dangerous  quagmire  to  man  and  beast, 
and  the  city  officials  never  dreamed  that  Rutgers  could  fulfil  the  second 
condition  of  his  lease.  Rutgers,  hov/ever,  persevered,  and  drained  the 
ground  by  cutting  a  ditch  from  the  Collect  to  the  Hudson  River.  The  ditch 
afterv/ard  formed  itself  into  a  canal,  which  was  the  source  of  much  trouble 
to  the  present  day  city  when  improvements  were  making.  Tov/ard  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  the  city  was  extending  northward, 
the  putting  of  the  Collect  to  some  use  by  the  people  was  considered.  Its 
surface  had  been  lov/ered  by  the  cutting  of  the  drain,  and  its  natural  outlet 
had  been  dried  up,  leaving  it,  some  thought,  an  ideal  centrepiece  for  a 
park.  Plans  with  this  end  in  view  were  frequently  proposed,  but  never 
carried  out,  and  by  the  year  1810,  with  the  onward  march  of  the  city,  it 
disappeared.  Some  trace  of  it  may  be  found  in  the  cellars  in  Canal  street. 
Property  on  Broadway  in  1791  was  not  so  valuable  as  it  is  to-day,  for 
"one  hundred  lots  of  ground,  in  Broadway  and  adjacent  streets,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  New  York  Hospital,  25  by  100  feet,  v.-ere  offered  for  sale  at 
£2Z  per  lot."  This  year  yellow  fever  prevailed  in  the  vicinity  of  Burling 
Slip. 

March  14,  1792,  marks  the  incorporation  of  the  General  Society  of 
Mechanics  and  Tradesmen.  The  object  of  this  society  originally  was  "the 
relief  of  decayed  and  distressed  mechanics  and  tradesmen."  In  1821  the 
society  erected  the  Mechanics'  Institute  in  Chambers  street,  between 
Chatham  street  and  City  Hall  Place,  and  a  school  and  library  were  estab- 
lished for  the  education  of  its  proteges.  Later  it  erected  a  building  on  the 
corner  of  Broadway  and  Park  Place,  part  of  which  was  occupied  as  a 
hotel  in  1829.      The  charter  of  the  society  was  renewed  on  April  3,  1811. 

'   This   year    the    Tontine    Association    began    the   erection    of    its   coffee 
house  on   the  corner   of   Wall   and   Water  streets.     The   organization   was 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  loi 

founded  in  1790  and  incorporated  in  1794  by  a  company  of  merchants  for 
the  purpose  of  providing  a  centre  for  the  mercantile  community.  "By  the 
plan  of  the  association  each  shareholder  selected  a  nominee,  during  whose 
life  he  was  to  receive  his  equal  proportion  of  the  net  proceeds  of  the 
establishment,  but  upon  whose  death  his  interest  reverted  to  the  owners  of 
the  surviving  nominees.  The  original  shares  were  assignable,  and  held  as 
personal  estate,  and  the  whole  property  was  vested  in  five  trustees,  who 
were  to  hold  the  property  until  the  number  of  the  surviving  nominees  was 
reduced  to  seven,  when  the  whole  was  to  be  divided  among  the  fortunate 
seven  shareholders  depending  upon  them."  Two  hundred  and  three  shares 
were  subscribed  for  at  $200  each,  and  with  this  sum  a  lot  of  ground  100 
feet  square  was  purchased  in  the  location  named  above.  The  building  was 
completed  in  1794,  and  the  Merchants'  Exchange  was  removed  from  the 
place  it  occupied  since  the  Revolution — a  dilapidated  old  building  in  the 
centre  of  Broad  street,  below  Pearl — to  the  new  structure.  When  the  old 
Exchange  in  Wall  street  was  erected  in  1825  the  building  of  the  Tontine 
Association  was  put  to  other  uses,  and  in  May,  1855,  was  demolished  to 
make  room  for  another  Tontine  Building. 

On  September  29,  1792,  State  street,  with  "a  great  many  other  streets 
in  the  eastern  and  northern  parts  of  the  city,  which  was  increasing  with 
amazing  rapidity,"  was  laid  out,  and  on  October  8  "an  apparatus  for  boring 
water,  imported  by  Abijah  Hammond,  Esq.,  from  Boston,  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, was  presented  to  the  corporation,  who  ordered  an  experiment  to  be 
made  on  the  lot  adjoining  the  City  Hall." 

There  were  484  licensed  taverns  in  the  city  in  1793,  from  which  a 
revenue  of  £721  5s  was  derived.  The  fees  from  Fly,  Peck  Slip,  Catharine, 
Oswego  and  Hudson  markets  were  il,343.  The  Mayor's  salary  this  year  was 
£800,  an  increase  of  £200  since  1789.  On  May  27  "a  museum  was  allowed 
in  the  City  Hall,"  presumably  Scudder's  Museum,  "an  immense  collection  of 
rare  and  valuable  articles  of  every  description."  It  was  afterv/ard  trans- 
ferred to  a  building  behind  the  City  Hall,  on  the  north  side  of  the  park  and 
fronting  Chambers  street — the  Almshouse,  which  had  outlived  its  usefulness 
in  1816,  when  the  paupers  were  removed  to  Bellevue. 

On  September  16  "the  yellow  fever  prevailed  in  Philadelphia  and 
caused  great  alarm  in  New  York.  Uncommon  precautions  were  used  to 
guard  against  its  importation  and  to  prevent  all  intercourse  with  that 
city.  The  sum  of  $5,000  was  given  by  the  corporation  to  the  distressed 
citizens  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Bank  of  New  York  loaned  them  the  money 
at  5  per  cent."  With  this  scare  came  another — "a  battle  off  Sandy  Hoolc 
between  the  British  frigate  Boston  and  the  French  frigate  Ambuscade,  in 
which  both  were  severely  crippled." 

On  January  20,  1794,  "the  new  almshouse  in  Chambers  street  was 
contemplated,  and  a  grant  for  a  lottery  to  raise  £10,000  for  that  purpose 
was  given  by  the  legislature."  A  few  days  after  the  meeting  at  which 
action  on  the  almshouse  was  taken  the  patriotic  members  of  the  corporation 
decided  to  extinguish  as  much  as  possible  the  reminders  of  royalty  in 
Street  names,  and  on  January  24  "the  various  parts  of  a  certain  street 
called  Smith  street,  William  street  and  King  George's  street,  was  ordered 
to  be  called  William  stre«^,t.     Broadway,  which  was  called  from  Vesey  street 


102  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Great  George  street,  was  ordered  to  take  the  name  of  Broadway  in  its  whole 
extent,  and  the  continuous  streets  called  Little  Dock  street,  Pearl  street, 
Hanover  Square  and  Queen  street  were  ordered  to  be  called  Pearl  street." 
Shortly  after  this  meeting  another  attack  was  made  on  street  names,  and 
"Stone  street,  Duke  street  and  the  little  alley  to  Hanover  Square  was  altered 
to  Stone  street.  Verlettenburgh,  or  Flattenbarrack  street,  and  Garden 
street  were  altered  to  Garden  street.  King  street  was  named  Pine,  Little 
Queen  street  called  Cedar,  Crown  street  called  Liberty,  Prince  street  called 
Rose,  and  Beaver  and  Princess  street  called  Beaver."  This  year  "a  ferry 
was  established  to  Nutten,  or  Governor's  Island,  at  3d  each  person — but  all 
fatigue  parties  to  pass  gratis."  At  this  time  the  fort  was  being  erected 
on  the  island.  The  land  on  which  Bellevue  Hospital  stands  was  purchased 
for  $2,000  in  1794. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 


(1794-1795.) 


Origin  of  Street  Names — First  Sidewalks  Laid — Houses  Numbered — "Battle 

Off  Sandy  Hook" — City  Refuge  of  French  Emigres — 

Christ  Church  Built — First  Dispensary. 

Of  the  thousands  of  persons  engaged  in  the  hunt  for  fame  and  for- 
tune in  New  York,  not  a  stock  broker's  commisison  of  them  know  the  origin 
of  the  names  of  the  streets  they  travel  through  six  days  in  the  week. 
When  a  presumably  knowing  person  is  asked  whence  such  a  street  derives  its 
name,  he  wrinkles  his  brow  and  answers:  "D'ye  know,  it  never  struck  me  to 
find  out."  That  he  may  know,  here  are  a  few  the  writer  has  unearthed  for 
him: 

Allen  street  perpetuates  the  name  and  fame  of  Captain  William  Allen, 
one  of  the  heroes  of  the  War  of  1812.  He  was  but  twenty-nine  years  of  age 
when  he  died,  but  left  behind  him  a  brilliant  record. 

Ann  street — The  Christian  name  of  a  Dutch  burgher's  wife,  Ann  Vieltje. 

Barclay — From  the  Rev.  Henry  Barclay,  second  rector  of  Trinity. 

Battery  Place — From  a  place  where  a  battery  was  erected  in  1693. 

Bayard  street  owes  its  name  to  Richard  Bayard,  nephew  of  Peter 
Stuyvesant,  who  filled  the  position  of  Mayor  and  occupied  other  official 
posts  in  the  early  history  of  New  York.  The  Bayard  farm  was  situated  be- 
tween Canal  and  Bleecker  streets  and  between  Macdougal  street  and  the 
Bowery. 

Beach  street,  a  corruption  of  Bache,  was  named  in  honor  of  Paul 
Bache,  a  son-in-law  of  Anthony  Lispenard. 

Beaver — From  the  beaver;  originally  the  fur  district.  The  animal 
was  an  important  factor  in  the  fur  business  in  the  old  days. 

Beekman — From  William  Beekman,  owner  of  a  farm  which  extended 
north  and  south  of  the  present  street  and  from  Nassau  street  to  the  East 
River. 

Bethune  street  honors  the  name  of  the  Bethune  family,  noteworthy 
philanthropists,  whose  work  was  of  special  significance  in  connection  with 
the  improvement  of  the  "Five  Points." 

Bleecker  street  is  named  in  honor  of  Anthony  Bleecker,  who  for 
many  years  was  prominent  in  the  literary  world. 

Bowery  (Dutch)  means  a  farm.  From  Peter  Stuyvesant's  "Bowerie," 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Third  avenue  and  Thirteenth  street,  to  the  city  there 
was  a  path,  naturally  called  Bowery  lane;  this  was' afterward  named  Bow- 
ery road,  and  finally  the  Bowery. 

103 


104  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

Bowling  Green — Where  the  burghers  bowled;  leased  to  three  of  them 
in  1732. 

Bridge — From  a  bridge  that  crossed  a  ditch  in  Broad  street. 

Broad — From  the  Breede  Graft,  or  Broad  Canal,  once  a  ditch. 

Broome  street  was  named  after  John  Broome,  Lieutenant  Governor  of 
New  York  State  in  1804  and  a  prominent  member  of  many  commercial  and 
charitable  institutions. 

Canal  street  was  originally  a  canal  forty  feet  wide,  with  a  promenade 
and  trees  on  each  side  of  it.  It  carried  the  water  from  the  old  Collect  Pond 
to  the  Hudson  River.  A  stone  bridge  crossed  it  at  Broadway;  this  is  now 
below  the  pavement  of  that  busy  thoroughfare. 

Cedar — Suggestive  of  the  character  of  tree  growth  in  the  early  days. 

Chambers  street  owes  its  name  to  John  Chambers,  a  prominent  lawyer 
and  one  of  the  officers  of  Trinity  Church. 

Chatham  Square,  as  well  as  Pitt  street,  perpetuates  the  name  of 
William  Pitt,  America's  devoted  and  eloquent  friend,  the  Earl  of 
Chatham. 

Cherry  street  was  originally  part  of  a  large  cherry  farm. 

Church  street  was  cut  through  property  belonging  to  Trinity  Church. 

Chrystie  street  was  named  after  John  Chrystie,  a  brave  and  skilful 
officer,  who  heroically  gave  his  life  during  the  War  of  1812. 

Cliff — From  Dirck  Van  Clyff,  a  burgher,  on  whose  former  property  the 
street  is. 

Clinton  street  recalls  the  names  of  James,  George  and  De  Witt  Clinton, 
whose  records  in  war  and  in  peace  are  deserving  of  the  highest  honors  at 
the  hand  of  the  State  that  gave  them  birth. 

Coenties  Slip — A  corruption  of  the  name  of  Conraet  ten  Eyck,  owner 
of  land  in  the  vicinity. 

Corlears  street  brings  to  mind  Jacobus  Van  Corlears,  who  offered  the 
use  of  his  house  for  civic  purposes  to  Governor  Stuyvesant,  and  Anthony 
Van  Corlears,  the  trumpeter,  who,  it  is  alleged,  gave  Spuyten  Duyvil  its 
name  when  he  boasted  that  he  could  swim  across  the  troubled  waters  at 
that  place  "in  spite  of  the  devil." 

Cortlandt — -Prom  Oloff  Stevenson  Cortlandt,  an  early  settler,  through 
whose  land  the  street  was  cut. 

Crosby  street  was  named  in  honor  of  William  Bedlow  Crosby,  who  had 
inherited  the  greatest  portion  of  the  Seventh  ward.  He  was  connected  with 
many  charitable  societies  and  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  benevolence. 

Delancey  street  perpetuates  the  name  of  Governor  James  De  Lancey, 
the  original  builder  and  owner  of  the  house  that  afterward  became 
Fraunces'  Tavern  and  the  donor  to  the  city  of  its  first  town  clock. 

Desbrosses  street  commeraorates  the  official  career  of  Elias  Desbrosses, 
who  occupied  the  positions  of  Alderman,  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  warden  of  Trinity  Church. 

Division  street  derives  its  name  from  the  fact  that  it  divided  the  two 
great  farms  of  James  De  Lancey  and  Henry  Rutgers. 

Duane  street  owes  its  name  to  James  Duane,  New  York's  first  Mayor 
after  the  Revolution. 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  105 

Eldridge  street  is  a  reminder  of  Lieutenant  Joseph  C.  Eldridge,  who 
lost  his  life  in  the  war  of  1812. 

Exchange  Place — Where  the  old  Merchants'  Exchange  was  located. 

Ferry — The  road  that  led  to  the  first  ferry  between  New  York  and 
Brooklyn. 

Frankfort — From  the  German  city — Jacob  Leisler's  birthplace.  The 
street  was  cut  through  his  estate. 

Franklin  street  and  Franklin  Square  perpetuate  the  name  of  Benjamin 
Franklin. 

Fulton — From  Robert  Fulton,  whose  history  is,  or  should  be,  known 
to  every  one. 

Gansevoort  street  was  named  after  Brigadier  General  Peter  Gansevoort, 
who  rendered  important  service  in  checking  Burgoyne,  for  which  he  re- 
ceived a  vote  of  thanks  from  Congress. 

Goerck  street  and  Mangin  street  were  named  after  Sir  James  Goerck 
and  his  son  Mangin. 

Gouverneur  street  was  named  after  General  Isaac  Gouverneur. 

Great  Jones  street  belongs  to  the  estate  of  Chief  Justice  David  Jones, 
who  was  prominent  in  politics  during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

Greene  street  honors  the  name  of  General  Nathaniel  Greene, 

Greenwich — The    Greenwich    Village    Road. 

Hanover  Square — From  the  house  of  Hanover,  of  which  King  George 
was  a  member. 

Hester  street  was  so  called  by  Barnet  Rynders  in  honor  of  his  wife, 
Hester,  daughter  of  Jacob  Leisler. 

Jacob — Jacobus  Roosevelt,  owner  of  property  in  the  vicinity,  referred 
to  in  another  chapter. 

Lewis  street  honors  the  name  of  Morgan  Lewis,  a  stanch  patriot  who 
fought  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

Liberty — From  the  name  dear  to  every  one. 

Lispenard  street  formed  a  part  of  the  farm  owned  by  Anthony  Lis- 
penard. 

Ludlow  street  recalls  the  name  of  Gabriel  Ludlow,  clerk  of  the  House 
of  Assembly. 

Macdougal  street  was  named  after  Alexander  Macdougal,  a  noted  "Son 
of  Liberty." 

Maiden  Lane — Maagde  Paatje,  or  Maiden's  Path.  Once  a  path  beside 
a  stream  where  the  lover  and  the  lass  walked  and  told  sweet  nothings  to 
each  other. 

Mercer  street  recalls  the  name  of  Brigadier  General  Hugh  Mercer,  who 
advised  the  "night  march"  on  Princeton,  and  who,  rallying  his  men  on  that 
occasion,  received  his  death  blow. 

Moore  street  commemorates  the  name  of  Colonel  John  Moore,  a  promi- 
nent merchant  and  official. 

Morris — From  Gouverneur  Morris. 

Morton  street  honors  the  name  of  John  Morton,  a  well  known  mer- 
chant of  old  New  York,  who  advanced  large  sums  of  money  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress. 


io6  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Mott  street  was  named  after  a  successful  butcher,  Joseph  Mott. 

Nassau  (Pye-woman's  Lane) — Prom  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  Nassau. 

New — The  first  street  opened  by  the  English. 

Pearl — Pearl  shells  were  found  along  it  when  it  was  a  path  in  the  old 
days. 

Perry  street  was  named  after  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  the  hero  of  Lake 
Erie. 

Pitt  street  was  named  after  William  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham. 

Rector — Rector  of  church  property  mentioned  in   another  chapter. 

Ridge  street  was  a  natural  ridge  along  the  top  of  a  hill  on  James  De 
Lancey's  farm.     The  slope  from  Ridge  street  to  the  East  River  still  exists. 

Roosevelt — From  Isaac  Roosevelt,  of  pre-Revolutionary  fame. 

Rutherford  street  recalls  the  name  of  Colonel  John  Rutherford,  who 
was  one  of  the  committee  who  planned  the  present  system  of  numeral 
avenues  and  streets. 

Spring  street  owes  its  name  to  the  discovery  of  a  spring  in  that  neigh- 
borhood about  the  year  1800. 

Stone — Some  say  the  first  street  in  the  old  town  to  be  paved  with 
stone. 

Sullivan  street  was  named  after  Brigadier  General  John  Sullivan,  one 
of  the  most  active  officers  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  who  received  the  per- 
sonal thanks  of  Washington  for  his  services  in  Westchester. 

Tinpot  Alley — From  the  Dutch  words  Tuyn  Paat,  which  do  not  mean 
tinpot,  but  garden  road  or  lane. 

Tryon  Row — From  Sir  William  Tryon,  the  last  English  Governor  to 
bother  the  colonists. 

Vandam  street  honors  the  name  of  Rip  Van  Dam,  of  Dutch  descent, 
who  in  the  year  1731  occupied  the  position  of  Governor. 

Varick  street  was  cut  through  the  property  of  Colonel  Richard  Varick, 
who  at  one  time  was  Mayor  of  New  York. 

Vesey — From  the  Rev.  W.  Vesey,  Trinity's  first  minister. 

Wall  street  owes  its  name  to  the  wall  of  palisades  that  originally 
marked  its  path. 

Warren  street  was  named  after  Sir  Peter  Warren. 

Water — From  the  ground  being  submerged  in  the  old  days. 

Watts  street  preserves  the  memory  of  John  Watts,  the  last  city  Re- 
corder under  English  rule. 

Waverley  Place  received  its  name  in  response  to  a  petition  from  resi- 
dents of  the  neighborhood,  who  were  great  admirers  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's 
novels. 

Whitehall — From  the  road  that  led  to  the  White  Hall,  Stuyvesant's 
residence. 

Willett  street  was  named  after  Marinus  Willett,  a  Revolutionary  hero, 
whose  beautiful  mansion  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  little  houses,  Nos. 
2  and  4  Willett  street.  The  grounds  extended  from  Willett  street  down  to 
the  East  River. 

South  William  street  was  originally  called  Mill  street,  and  here  the 
first  Jewish  synagogue  was  erected. 

William — The  first  half  ©f  William  Beekman's  name. 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  107 

The  first  sidewalks  were  laid  in  New  York  City  in  1790  on  the  west 
side  of  Broadway,  from  Vesey  street  to  Murray  street,  "and  opposite  for  the 
same  distance  along  the  Bridewell  fence."  The  Bridewell  stood  at  the 
west  end  of  the  present  City  Hall.  The  pavements  were  of  brick  and  stone, 
not  wide  enough  to  permit  two  persons  to  walk  abreast.  Above  Murray 
street  Broadway  was  a  succession  of  hills.  Its  highest  elevation  was  in 
the  vicinity  of  Anthony  street  (Worth  street),  where  it  rose  precipitously 
over  a  steep  hill.  It  then  descended  abruptly  to  the  valley  at  Canal  street. 
To  a  slight  degree  this  elevation  and  declension  may  be  noticed  to-day. 
In  1797  the  grade  between  Duane  and  Canal  streets  was  established  by 
the  corporation,  though  it  was  some  years  later  before  the  work  was 
completed.  An  idea  of  the  height  of  this  hill  may  be  had  when  at 
Leonard  street  it  was  necessary  to  cut  through  it  to  a  depth  of  fifteen  and 
a  half  feet,  and  at  Worth  street  to  a  depth  of  nearly  twenty-three  feet. 
At  Canal  street  it  was  necessary  to  raise  the  land  seven  inches  to  meet 
the  proposed  grade. 

The  city  was  increasing  in  growth  in  1793,  and  "the  corporation, 
realizing  the  apparent  need  of  street  numbers,  appointed  a  committee  to 
prepare  and  report  a  feasible  system."  The  committee  proposed  the  fol- 
lowing: "To  begin  at  the  next  house  in  every  street  terminating  at  either 
of  the  rivers  at  the  intersection  of  the  main  street  next  the  river,  and 
number  all  houses  below  these  intersecting  streets,  beginning  with  No.  1, 
looking  upward  in  all  the  main  streets  and  downward  in  all  the  slips,  and 
so  on  to  the  end  of  the  street  or  slip."  This  scheme  was  adopted  by  the 
corporation. 

Here  is  an  interesting  history  for  the  heirs  of  the  New  York  Liberty 
Boys.  The  Commons,  from  the  earliest  times,  had  been  recognized  as  the 
property  of  the  city,  to  be  used  for  public  purposes,  which  history  tells  us 
all  about.  The  Bridewell,  the  new  jail  and  the  old  Provost,  "gloomy 
prisons  of  the  victims  of  Howe  and  Clinton,"  were  on  the  northwest  portion 
of  it.  The  Sons  of  Liberty,  in  1770,  five  years  prior  to  the  building  of  the 
Bridewell,  which  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  first  Liberty  Pole,  pur- 
chased this  piece  of  land  on  which  to  erect  the  second  Liberty  Pole.  In 
1785  Isaac  Sears,  in  whose  name  it  had  been  purchased,  claimed  it  on  their 
behalf,  "and  offered  to  release  all  right  and  title  to  it  for  80  pounds  sterling, 
with  lawful  interest — the  original  purchase  money."  The  corporation 
allowed  the  claim,  and  "ordered  forthwith  that  the  sum  be  paid."  It  was 
never  paid,  so  far  as  any  record  exists,  and — the  property  is  not  the  city's. 

The  explanation  of  the  record  under  1793,  "Battle  fought  off  Sandy 
Hook,"  etc.,  in  a  previous  chapter,  is  as  follows:  On  June  12  the  Am- 
buscade, a  French  man-of-war,  arrived  in  New  York  waters  from 
Charleston,  where  she  had  landed  the  accredited  minister  to  the  United 
States  from  the  new  French  Republic,  Citizen  Genet.  On  July  21  a 
frigate  appeared  off  Sandy  Hook,  reported  by  a  pilot  boat  to  be  the  Con- 
corde, a  consort  of  the  Ambuscade.  A  boat's  crew  of  the  latter  vessel  was 
sent  out  to  meet  her.  As  they  drew  near  her  a  tri-colored  flag  was  hoisted 
by  her,  and  the  party,  unsuspicious,  mounted  her  decks,  to  find  themselves 
prisoners  of  war,  as  the  vessel  was  the  British  frigate  Boston.  This  act 
of  treachery  was  denounced  by  every  one,  and,  as  the  captain  of  the  Boston 


io8  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

in  a  spirit  of  bravado  challenged  the  captain  of  the  Ambuscade  to  meet 
him  at  sea,  the  French  captain  was  urged  to  enter  the  contest.  Escorted 
by  a  fleet  of  pilot  boats  filled  with  spectators,  the  Ambuscade  encountered 
the  Boston  off  Sandy  Hook  on  July  30.  The  action  resulted  in  the  killing 
of  Captain  Courtney,  of  the  British  vessel.  Finding  their  vessel  captain- 
less  and  disabled,  the  Britishers  sailed  away,  pursued  for  some  distance 
by  the  triumphant  Ambuscade.  As  to  Citizen  Genet,  the  minister  had 
arrived  at  Charleston  on  April  9,  and  his  march  through  the  various  States 
on  his  way  to  New  York  was  triumphal.  His  mission  to  the  United  States 
was  to  get  the  support  of  the  government  against  nations  hostile  to  France. 
On  August  8  he  was  v/elcomed  to  New  York  with  the  ringing  of  bells  and 
salute  of  cannon  in  honor  of  the  success  of  France,  and,  being  encouraged 
by  these  manifestations  of  popular  sympathy  and  in  opposition  to  the  wish 
of  the  government,  v/hich  desired  to  remain  neutral,  he  fitted  out  numer- 
ous privateers  from  the  American  ports,  manned  in  many  cases  by  American 
seamen,  which  in  a  short  time  captured  nearly  fifty  British  vessels  in 
violation  of  the  President's  proclamation  of  neutrality.  The  conduct  of 
the  French  Minister  excited  the  indignation  of  the  President  and  Con- 
gress, who  ordered  the  captured  prizes  to  be  restored.  The  minister  openly 
justified  his  conduct,  backed  up  as  he  v/as  by  the  powerful  Republican 
party.  The  correspondence  between  him  and  the  government  grew  so 
offensive  that  those  who  had  hitherto  defended  him,  among  them  Jefferson 
and  Randolph,  joined  with  the  opposition  in  demanding  his  recall.  Before 
this  letter  of  recall  had  reached  France  the  Girondins,  Genet's  friends,  had 
fallen  from  power,  and  the  Jacobins,  succeeding  them,  conceded  the  Presi- 
dent's request. 

An  old  authority  says:  "The  tragedies  of  the  Reign  of  Terror  destroyed 
much  of  the  popular  sympathy  with  the  French  Republic.  America  became 
the  refuge  of  the  emigres,  and  this  population  wrought  a  visible  change  in 
the  character  of  the  people  of  New  York.  French  manners,  customs,  cook- 
ery, furniture,  fashions  and  language  came  suddenly  in  vogue,  and  for  a 
season  New  York  seemed  transformed  into  Paris.  When  the  downfall  of 
Robespierre  recalled  the  exiles  to  their  homes,  and  the  city  was  vacated 
as  suddenly  as  it  had  been  filled,  it  still  retained  the  impress  of  the  in- 
vasion." 

On  July  6,  1794,  "Corre  permitted  to  sell  small  drinks  on  the  Battery, 
and  to  light  a  fev/  lamps  for  the  public  benefit.  Also  to  erect  a  Chinese 
pagoda,  with  a  flagstaff,  northeast  of  the  bridge  leading  to  the  fort." 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  same  year  "Christ  Church,  in  Ann  street, 
was  built,  and  the  street  paved  and  regulated."  The  structure,  origi- 
nally for  Presbyterian  v/orship,  was  built  of  stone  and  was  61  by  80  feet 
in  dimensions.  In  1827  "it  was  repaired,  altered  and  occupied  by  the 
Catholics."  In  1795  St.  Mark's  Church,  in  Stuyvesant  street,  was  built, 
also  the  Baptist  Church  in  Oliver  street.  The  first  church  was  100  by  64 
feet,  and  in  1827  "a  spire  constructed  of  brick  and  plastered  was  raised 
on  its  tower,  and  adds  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  edifice."  The  Oliver 
street  church  was  called  the  Third  Baptist  Church.  It  was  rebuilt  of  stone 
in  1819.    The  New  Alms  House  in  Chambers  street  was  also  built  this  year. 

"Feb.  2,  179.5.    622  paupers  in  the  almshouse,  of  which  102  were  born 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  log 

in  New  York,  29  in  England,  87  in  Ireland,  30  in  Scotland,  34  in  Germany, 
60  in  the  United  States,  and  21  otliers.  The  whole  annual  expense  of  their 
support  was  £8,319  15s  7d,  or  lOd  each  per  day,  viz.,  for  provisions,  ^Y^^', 
clothing,  firewood  and  medicine,  4^d.  There  were  73  persons  on  an  aver- 
age in  Bridewell,  who  cost  £600  over  their  earnings." 

On  March  16  the  freedom  of  the  city  was  awarded  to  Alexander 
Hamilton,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  corporation  on  April  7,  South  street  was  laid  out  seventy  feet  wide, 
and  "ordered  that  no  water  lots  further  out  be  granted,  or  any  more  build- 
ings erected  in  that  direction." 

The  ancestor  of  all  the  dispensaries  at  the  present  time  in  New  York 
was  instituted  in  1790,  and  incorporated  on  April  8,  1795.  It  was  called 
the  New  York  Dispensary,  according  to  the  articles  of  incorporation.  From 
this  institution  sprung,  first,  the  Northern  Dispensary,  established  in  1829; 
the  Elastern  Dispensary,  founded  in  1834;  the  Demilt  Dispensary,  erected  by 
a  munificent  bequest  of  Miss  Demilt,  from  whom  it  receives  its  name,  and 
many  others  of  late  date. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 


(1795.) 

First   Newspaper — History   of   Newspapers   Up   to    1845 — First    One-Cent 

Paper — Beginning  of  the  Newsboy — Origin  of  Newspaper 

Distribution — The  Moon  Hoax. 

One  hundred  and  eighty-four  years  ago  the  first  newspaper  was 
published  in  New  York  City  by  William  Bradford.  To  what  an  extent  has 
the  graveyard  of  newspaper  hopes  grown  since  then!  Bradford's  paper 
was  printed  on  a  small  foolscap  sheet,  with  the  heading  "New  York 
Gazette.  From  Monday,  Oct.  16th,  to  Oct.  23d,  1725."  It  was  a  weekly 
publication.  During  Governor  Cosby's  administration,  when  Bradford's 
paper  espoused  the  cause  of  the  government,  John  Peter  Zenger  established 
"The  New  York  Weekly  Journal,"  which  became  the  vehicle  of  those 
opposed  to  the  administration  of  the  testy  and  despotic  Cosby.  It  was 
because  of  the  suit  against  Zenger  for  publishing  what  the  Governor 
claimed  to  be  seditious  libels  that  the  freedom  of  the  press  was  established 
on  August  4,  1735,  and  "the  seeds  were  planted  which  germinated  among 
the  people  and  sprung  up,  like  the  sown  dragon's  teeth,  a  host  of  armed 
warriors."  Bradford's  paper  ceased  publication  in  1742,  and  the  next 
year  James  Parker,  his  apprentice,  issued  a  weekly  called  "The  New  York 
Gazette  and  Weekly  Postboy."  "The  Weekly  Journal"  of  Zenger  was  dis- 
continued in  1752,  and  on  its  foundation  Hugh  Gaine  built  "The  New  York 
Mercury."  In  1765  three  papers  were  issued  in  this  city — Parker's  "New 
York  Gazette  and  Weekly  Postboy,"  but  at  that  time  published  by  John 
Holt;  Gaine's  "New  York  Mercury,"  first  issued  in  1752,  and  William 
Weyman's  "New  York  Gazette,"  published  in  1759. 

In  November,  1766,  Parker  resumed  the  publication  of  "The  Gazette 
and  Postboy,"  and  continued  it  until  his  death  in  1770,  while  Holt  issued 
a  new  paper,  "The  New  York  Journal  or  General  Advertiser,"  which  re- 
mained the  organ  of  the  Liberty  party  until  the  capture  of  the  city  in 
1776,  when  he  was  forced  to  set  up  his  press  in  Esopus.  When  that 
village  was  burned,  in  1777,  he  went  to  Poughkeepsie,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  publish  his  paper  until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  the  autumn  of 
1783  it  was  again  printed  in  the  city  of  New  York,  under  the  title  of 
"The  Independent  Gazette  or  the  New  York  Journal  Revived."  Holt  died 
in  1784,  and  the  paper  was  continued  by  his  widow  until  1787,  when 
Thomas  Greenleaf  acquired  it  and  merged  it  into  two  papers,  a  weekly, 
"Greenleaf's  New  York  Journal  and  Patriotic  Register,"  and  a  daily,  "The 
New  York  Journal  and  Daily  Patriotic  Register,"  afterward  "The  Argus,  or 
Greenleaf's  New  Daily  Advertiser." 

During  the   possession   of   the  city  by   the   British   two   papers  were 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  in 

published.  Gaine  issued  his  "Gazette  and  Mercury"  from  Hanover  Square, 
and  Rivington's  "Royal  Gazette"  was  published  at  the  corner  of  Wall  and 
Pearl  streets.  The  latter  paper  had  "parlous"  times  in  the  autumn  of 
1775,  however,  for  King  Sears,  of  Liberty  Boys  fame,  and  a  party  of 
horsemen  destroyed  its  press  and  carried  off  the  types  to  New  Haven. 
Rivington  the  next  year  received  balm  for  his  wounds  by  being  appointed 
printer  to  the  King.  When  the  patriot  cause  seemed  likely  to  succeed 
he  changed  base  by  sending  in  an  ingenious  way  to  Washington  secret 
information  regarding  the  doings  of  the  British,  and  thus  remained  un- 
molested when  other  loyalists  had  to  flee  at  the  evacuation.  In  1786  "The 
New  York  Gazette"  was  established  in  Hanover  Square  by  John  McLean, 
and  was  published  twice  a  week  until  January  1,  1790,  when  it  became  a 
daily.  "It  is  printed  on  a  large  super-royal  sheet,  and  has  a  very  extensive, 
regular  and  respectable  patronage  among  the  various  classes  of  citizens, 
especially  the  old  established  and  wealthy  merchants.  The  political  char- 
acter of  the  editors  is  of  the  old  anti-democratic  school."  The  celebrated 
papers  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  entitled  "The  Federalist,"  over  the  signa- 
ture of  Camillus,  were  originally  published  in  "The  Gazette"  in  1788.  In 
the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  were  twelve  daily  papers 
(eight  morning  and  four  afternoon),  eight  semi-weekly  and  two  weekly 
papers  printed  in  New  York.  The  combined  circulation  of  the  daily  papers 
was  15,000  copies,  of  the  semi-weekly,  8,000,  and  of  the  weekly,  30,000. 
Fifteen  thousand  reams  of  paper  were  consumed  yearly  by  these  publi- 
cations, at  an  average  cost  of  $4.50  a  ream.  "The  Mercantile  Advertiser," 
"exclusively  devoted  to  advertisements  and  to  the  announcement  of  the 
news  of  the  day,  without  note  or  comment,"  was  published  at  No.  150 
Pearl  street  by  A.  Butler  and  George  W.  Heyer.  "The  New  York  Daily 
Advertiser,"  established  in  1817,  "and  printed  by  a  Napier  printing  press, 
which  the  proprietors  imported  from  England  at  great  expense,"  was 
published  in  the  Exchange.  "The  National  Advocate,"  established  in  1812, 
and  edited  by  Henry  W^heaton,  who  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Noah  in  1818, 
was  the  supporter  of  the  Democratic  party.  "The  New  York  Enquirer," 
edited  by  M.  M.  Noah,  was  the  organ  of  the  Republican  party,  "and  of 
great  political  power."  "The  Journal  of  Commerce,"  established  in  1827, 
and  edited  "by  a  gentleman  from  Virginia,  William  H.  Maxwell,"  was 
published  from  the  basement  of  the  Exchange,  in  Wall  street.  Then  there 
were  "The  Morning  Courier,"  edited  by  Messrs.  Brooke,  Skillman,  Lawson 
and  Webb,  and  "The  Merchants'  Telegraph,"  edited  by  John  J.  Mumford. 

The  evening  papers  were  "The  New  York  Evening  Post,"  established 
in  1801,  and  published  from  No.  4  9  William  street.  It  was  edited  by 
William  C.  Bryant  and  "has  long  been  considered  one  of  the  fashionable 
daily  afternoon  papers."  "The  Commercial  Advertiser"  (daily  for  the  city) 
and  "The  New  York  Spectator"  (semi-weekly,  for  the  country),  published 
at  No.  48  Pine  street  and  edited  by  William  L.  Stone  and  Francis  Hall, 
"are  amusing  and  well  edited  papers,  and  give  the  earliest  literary  an- 
nouncements." "The  New  York  American,"  founded  in  1820,  and  edited 
by  Charles  King,  "is  extensively  circulated  in  the  fashionable  circles  of 
society,  and  is  printed  on  the  Napier  printing  machine,  iu  New  street." 
"Tlie  New  York  Statesman,"  edited  by  N.  H.  Carter  and  George  Prentiss, 


112  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

had  "a  ship  letter  office  attached  to  the  publication  office,  where  all  the 
regular  packets  for  foreign  ports  have  their  bags  deposited  to  receive 
letters  before  sailing.  'The  Statesman'  is  the  organ  of  that  extensive 
class  of  our  countrymen  in  this  State  that  feel  strongly  disposed  to  cherish 
the  American  system  of  encouraging  our  own  valuable  manufacturers." 

Before  the  second  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  had  passed 
through  the  door  of  ages  there  were  about  fifty  daily,  weekly,  semi-weekly 
and  monthly  journals  in  New  York.  The  oldest  of  them  was  "The  Com- 
mercial Advertiser,"  under  the  charge  of  Colonel  William  L.  Stone.  Then 
there  were  "The  Evening  Post,"  edited  by  William  Coleman;  "The  Morn- 
ing Courier"  of  James  Watson  Webb,  and  "The  New  York  Enquirer"  of 
Mordecai  M.  Noah,  merged  in  1829  into  "The  Courier  and  Enquirer";  "The 
Journal  of  Commerce,"  begun  under  the  editorship  of  David  Hale  in  1827; 
"The  Standard"  and  "The  Spirit  of  the  Times,"  issued  by  William  T. 
Porter.  "The  New  York  Mirror,"  edited  by  George  P.  Morris,  in  which 
N.  P.  Willis  first  attracted  public  attention,  and  "The  Knickerbocker  Maga- 
zine," commenced  in  1833,  were  the  only  literary  papers  of  the  city.  In 
these  Irving,  Cooper,  Paulding,  Bryant,  Simms,  Pay  and  a  host  of  other 
literary  celebrities  made  their  first  essays  as  candidates  for  public  favor. 
"The  dailies  were  sixpenny  journals,  and  were  distributed  to  regular  sub- 
scribers. Newsboys  were  unknown,  and  though,  upon  the  occurrence  of 
some  unusual  event,  a  hundred  extra  copies  vt^ere  sometimes  struck  off, 
in  view  of  a  possible  outside  demand,  the  chances  for  the  sale  of  these 
were  so  hazardous  that  few  of  the  distributors  cared  to  take  the  trouble 
and  responsibility  of  offering  them  for  sale." 

On  October  29,  1832,  "The  New  York  Globe,"  a  two-cent  paper,  was 
issued  by  the  elder  James  Gordon  Bennett,  who  had  been  for  several  years 
connected  with  "The  National  Advocate"  and  "The  Courier  and  Enquirer." 
The  two-cent  paper  experiment  proved  unsuccessful,  and  just  one  month 
after  its  birth  it  died.  In  1833  occurred  one  of  the  most  important  events 
in  the  history  of  the  city,  as  well  as  the  v/hole  country- — the  establish- 
ment of  the  penny  press,  an  institution  which  opened  the  way  for  cheap 
literature  and  tended  emphatically  to  make  of  the  people  "the  greatest 
reading  nation  of  any  on  the  globe."  It  originated  in  the  brain  of  Dr. 
Horatio  David  Sheppard,  a  young  medical  student,  "rich  in  hopes,  but 
lacking  in  money,"  who  vainly  endeavored  to  persuade  his  friends  of  the 
feasibility  of  the  scheme.  His  idea  that  a  spicy  journal,  offered  every- 
where by  boys  at  the  low  price  of  one  cent,  would  be  bought  with 
avidity  was  scouted  by  all  the  journalists  of  the  city.  He  succeeded,  how- 
ever, in  prevailing  upon  Horace  Greeley  and  Francis  Story,  who  were 
establishing  a  printing  office,  to  get  out  his  paper  on  a  week's  credit,  but 
with  the  proviso  that  he  fix  the  price  at  two  cents  a  copy.  On  January  1, 
1833,  he  issued  "The  Morning  Post,"  his  projected  paper,  in  the  midst  of 
a  violent  snowstorm,  which  checked  the  saie  and  'disheartened  the  few 
newsboys  engaged  to  sell  it.  At  the  end  of  the  first  week  he  met  the 
promised  payment;  the  second  week  his  receipts  barely  covered  half  his 
expenses,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  third  the  printers,  almost  destitute 
of  capital  and  finding  no  way  of  getting  it  from  the  young  publisher, 
were  compelled  to  refuse  h.lm  further  credit,     Tlie  paper  ceased  publication, 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  113 

and  Dr.  Sheppard,  discouraged  at  his  ill  success,  abandoned  tlie  ranks  of 
journalism  and  returned  to  his  profession.  Another  person,  Benjamin  H. 
Day,  who  in  1829  had  commenced  the  publication  of  "The  Daily  Sentinel," 
took  up  the  idea  of  the  penny  paper,  and  on  September  3,  1833,  issued 
"The  Sun,"  the  first  one-cent  paper  ever  published  in  New  York.  His 
paper  was  sneered  at  and  despised  by  its  more  pretentious  contemporaries, 
but  its  cheapness  commended  it  to  the  masses,  and  its  circulation  increased 
to  eight  thousand  copies  in  less  than  a  year.  As  it  was  the  acknowledged 
organ  of  no  party,  and  without  the  subscribers  possessed  by  its  powerful 
rivals,  the  proprietor  of  the  one-cent  paper,  to  insure  a  healthful  circu- 
lation, struck  upon  the  method  first  projected  by  Dr.  Sheppard  of  hiring 
boys  to  work  for  him  at  $2  a  week.  Each  boy  was  dispatched  with  125 
copies  of  the  paper  to  different  parts  of  the  city,  and  was  to  cry  the  paper 
for  sale  to  the  passersby.  In  the  course  of  two  or  three  hours  the  papers 
were  sold,  and  the  boys  came  back  for  a  fresh  supply,  which  was  given 
to  them  at  a  reduced  rate.  Thus  originated  the  race  of  newsboys  in  New 
York,  now  naturalized  in  almost  every  city  of  the  Union.  Other  publishers, 
seeing  the  success  achieved  by  Benjamin  H.  Day,  published  an  extra 
edition  of  their  papers  for  the  newsboys,  while,  by  way  of  exchange,  several 
of  the  regular  distributors  of  these,  finding  that  the  profits  of  the  boys 
amounted  to  more  than  their  small  weekly  salaries,  set  to  work  to  procure 
subscribers  to  "The  Sun,"  and  to  establish  newspaper  routes  as  private 
speculations.  And  thus  were  established  some  of  our  large  newspaper 
distributing  companies. 

^  An  authority  says:  "The  most  curious  fact  in  the  history  of  this  first 
penny  paper  was  the  pviblication  of  the  celebrated  'Moon  Hoax,'  or  dis- 
coveries in  the  moon,  written  by  Richard  Adams  Locke,  at  that  time  Editor 
of  'The  Sun.'  It  purported  to  be  an  account  of  Sir  John  F.  W.  Herschel's 
discoveries  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  taken  from  'The  Supplement  of  The 
Edinburgh  Philosophical  Journal,'  and  was  written  with  every  appearance 
of  consistency.  To  disarm  suspicion  a  scientific  description  of  an  ingen- 
iously invented  telescope  by  which  these  discoveries  had  been  made  was 
given.  The  author  then  proceeded  to  delineate  the  geographical  features 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  moon  with  such  graphic  power  and  show  of 
probability  that  the  gravest  journals  swallowed  the  bait  and  took  the  ac- 
count as  an  historical  fact,  though  they  were  piqued  at  the  lucky  chance 
which  had  thrown  the  earliest  intelligence  of  so  important  a  discovery  into 
the  hands  of  the  despised  penny  paper.  One  journal,  on  the  day  after  the 
story  of  the  lunar  discoveries  appeared  in  'The  Sun,'  gravely  assured  its 
readers  that  it  had  also  received  the  account  by  the  same  mail,  but  through 
want  of  sufficient  space  was  unable  to  publish  it.  The  article  was  copied  and 
commented  on  throughout  the  country  by  other  papers,  and  Sir  John  Her- 
schel  was  everywhere  extolled  as  the  greatest  discoverer  of  the  age.  En- 
thusiasts even  began  to  speculate  on  the  possibility  of  opening  telegraphic 
communication  with  their  newly  described  neighbors.  When  the  hoax  was 
discovered  universal  merriment  was  excited,  but  the  offence  was  not  soon 
forgotten  or  forgiven  by  the  cheated  contemporaries  of  the  paper  which  had 
issued  the  canard."  In  1838  Day  disposed  of  his  paper  to  Moses  Y.  Beach 
for  $38,000. 


114  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

A  second  one-cent  paper,  "The  Transcript,"  was  published  in  1834,  and 
continued  until  1839.  Then  another,  "The  Moon,"  was  issued,  v/hich  sur- 
vived two  or  three  years.  A  fourth  one,  "The  Morning  Star,"  soon  after 
made  its  appearance,  as  did  "The  Morning  Dispatch,"  published  in  1839  by- 
Day,  owner  of  the  first  one-cent  paper.    They  proved  failures. 

Some  of  the  oldtime  journalists  made  their  debut  during  this  period. 
On  March  22,  1834,  Horace  Greeley,  Jonas  Winchester  and  E.  Sibbett  began 
the  publication  of  "The  New  Yorker,"  printed  at  first  on  a  large  folio  sheet 
and  afterward  in  two  forms,  folio  and  quarto,  the  former  at  $2  and  the 
latter  at  $3  a  year.  Park  Benjamin  was  a  contributor  to  its  columns,  and 
in  1840  Henry  J.  Raymond,  afterward  editor  of  "The  New  York  Times," 
then  a  recent  graduate  of  Burlington  College,  Vt.,  began  his  editorial  career 
on  it  at  a  salary  of  $8  a  week.  On  May  6,  1835,  "The  New  York  Herald" 
made  its  appearance  as  a  two-cent  paper,  under  the  auspices  of  James  Gor- 
don Bennett,  flxther  of  the  present  owner,  and  Anderson  &  Smith,  printers 
in  Ann  street.  A  few  months  after  its  publication  the  office  and  printing 
establishment  were  destroyed  by  fire,  Anderson  &  Smith  withdrew  from  the 
firm,  leaving  the  paper  in  the  control  of  the  elder  Bennett.  "Th  New 
York  Express"  was  issued  in  June  of  the  same  year  by  James  and  Erastus 
Brooks,  and  on  April  10,  1841,  "The  Tribune"  appeared,  edited  by  Horace 
Greeley,  with  the  assistance  of  Henry  J.  Raymond.  It  was  a  daily  one-cent 
paper.    The  foregoing  may  be  called  the  senior  papers  of  New  York. 


CHAPTER    XXni. 


1785-1796.) 


Bowling  Green — Origin  of  "Gotham" — "The  New  York  Gazetteer" — Cost 

of  City  Lighting — Beginning  of  Gas  Companies — 

Burning  of  New  Treaty. 

In  March,  1732,  it  was  resolved  "That  this  corporation  will  lease  a  piece 
of  land  lying  at  the  lower  end  of  Broadway,  fronting  to  the  Fort,  to  some 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Broadway,  in  order  to  be  inclosed  to  make  a 
bowling  green  thereof,  with  walks  therein,  for  the  beauty  and  ornament  of 
said  street,  as  well  as  for  the  recreation  and  delight  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  city,  leaving  the  street  on  each  side  thereof  fifty  feet  in  breadth."  John 
Chambers,  Peter  Baj'ard  and  Peter  Jay,  lovers  of  sport,  in  accordance  with 
this  resolution  hired  the  ground  for  a  term  of  eleven  years,  paying  as  rent 
therefor  one  peppercorn  a  year,  and  prepared  it  for  the  game  of  bowls.  After 
their  lease  expired  John  Chambers,  Colonel  Phillipse  and  John  Roosevelt 
became  the  lessees  for  another  eleven  years,  paying  20  shillings  a  year  for 
the  privilege  of  playing  the  game. 

"Gotham"  was  satirically  applied  by  Washington  Irving  in  1807  to  the 
city  of  New  York  in  one  of  the  "Salmagundi"  papers,  entitled  "Chronicles  of 
the  Renowned  and  Ancient  City  of  Gotham,"  most  likely  because  of  the 
simplicity  of  its  inhabitants  in  the  old  days.  He  took  the  appellation  from 
a  parish  of  Nottinghamshire,  England,  called  Gotham,  whose  inhabitants 
were  said  to  have  simulated  simplicity  to  avert  a  King's  anger. 

'The  prettiest  street  in  all  New  York,"  at  one  time  Rivington  street, 
was  not  named  after  "the  only  London  bookseller  in  America,"  as  James 
Rivington  styled  himself  in  1760.  He  had  acquired  wealth  as  a  publisher  in 
Paternoster  Row,  London,  but  it  is  said  the  Newmarket  bookmakers  induced 
him  to  play  too  many  "tips,"  with  the  result  that  he  looked  on  the  new  world 
as  the  only  place  to  retrieve  his  losses.  Connected  with  his  bookshop  in  Han- 
over Square  in  1772  was  a  printing  office,  whence  a  year  later  he  issued  "The 
New  York  Gazetteer."  In  1775  he  said  his  paper  was  "printed  at  his  open  and 
uninfluenced  press  fronting  Hanover  Square,"  though  he  retained  the  royal 
arms  on  the  title  of  his  paper  when  other  printers  were  removing  them. 
After  the  attack  on  his  shop  by  the  patriots  in  1775  for  his  zeal  as  a  Tory, 
he  went  to  England,  and  on  his  return  in  1777  began  again  the  issue  of  his 
paper,  with  the  sub-title  "Published  at  New  York  by  James  Rivington, 
Printer  to  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty."  He  died  in  1802,  at  No.  156 
Pearl   street. 

It  has  been  said  ^that  the  power  of  comparison  gives  definiteness  and 

115 


ii6  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

clearness  to  thought,  and  that  we  never  can  understand  anything  well  but 
by  comparing  it  with  something  else.  In  accordance  with  this  the  following 
will  furnish  an  object  lesson: 

In  1770  it  was  estimated  that  the  cost  of  lamps,  lighting  the  city,  etc., 
was  £760  a  year.  In  1791  the  city  lamps  were  ordered  to  be  114  feet  apart, 
angularly.  In  1806  the  cost  of  lighting  each  lamp  was  $11  a  year.  There 
were  1,556  public  lamps  and  97  private  lamps  in  the  city  in  1809,  which  cost 
to  light  $9.50  each  for  eight  months.  In  the  summer  of  1812  efforts  were 
made  to  substitute  something  better  than  oil,  with  which  the  streets  had 
been  dimly  lighted,  and  an  experiment  was  made  with  gaslight  in  the  park. 
Nothing  definite  resulted,  however,  though  four  years  afterward,  on  June 
18  and  November  18,  1816,  a  "long,  learned  and  favorable  report  on  the 
subject  of  gaslight  was  made  by  a  committee  of  the  corporation."  On  Jan- 
uary 27,  1817,  "another  detailed  report  was  made  in  favor  of  lighting  the 
city  with  gas,  from  the  trial  made  under  the  inspection  of  Dr.  Hare,  which 
cost  $5,927.25  (including  $1,400  for  seven  months  of  his  salary).  The  ex- 
periments were  made  in  an  old  building  near  the  east  corner  of  the  City 
Hall,  and  temporary  tin  pipes  were  laid  through  Chatham  street  and 
Broadway  as  far  as  Dey  street,  and  a  few  store  windows  lighted  up.<.  The 
light  was  admired,  but  the  city  authorities  shrank  from  the  expense  of  lay- 
ing the  requisite  iron  pipes,  etc.,  which  it  was  estimated  v/ould  cost  for  the 
whole  city  several  hundred  thousand  dollars."  In  April,  1823,  the  corpora- 
tion granted  to  the  New  York  Gas  Company  "the  exclusive  privilege  for 
thirty  years  of  laying  castiron  gas  pipes  in  the  streets  south  of  Grand 
street,  and  reserved  the  privilege  of  using  the  gas  for  the  street  lamps,  on 
the  same  terms  and  cost  as  oil."  On  May  11,  1825,  the  company  began  the 
proposed  improvement  by  laying  gas  pipes  in  Broadway,  on  both  sides  of 
the  street,  from  Canal  street  to  the  Battery.  From  these  they  were  gradually 
extended  over  the  southern  part  of  the  island,  though  for  years  the  city  pre- 
sented a  checkered  appearance,  with  one  block  dimly  lighted  by  the  ancient 
oil  lamps  and  the  next  brilliantly  illuminated  from  the  works  of  the  new 
gas  company.  In  1830  the  improvement  was  extended  to  the  northern  part 
of  the  island  by  the  incorporation  of  the  Manhattan  Gas  Light  Company, 
with  a  capital  of  $500,000,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  upper  part  of 
the  city  not  included  within  the  limits  of  the  New  Yoi'k  Company. 

When  gas  was  introduced  into  the  city  below  Canal  street  opposition 
arose  to  the  innovation.  Many  of  the  citizens  were  afraid  to  have  it  in  or 
near  their  dwellings.  All  sorts  of  catastrophes  were  predicted.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  sterling  qualities  possessed  by  Samuel  Leggett,  who  introducd 
gas  into  his  own  residence  in  Franklin  Square,  and  invited  the  public  to 
witness  the  utility  of  the  new  source  of  light  and  comfort,  its  introduction 
would  have  been  delayed  longer.  Leggett  founded  and  was  president  of 
the  first  gas  company  in  New  York  in  1823. 

It  would  not  be  proper  to  leave  this  subject  without  giving  the  opinion 
of  an  authority  on  the  gas  works  as  a  "place  of  interest,  an  object  of  great 
importance,  and  highly  curious  in  all  its  details." 

^  "The  manner  in  which  Broadway  and  many  of  the  public  buildings  and 
shops  in  the  principal  streets  are  now  lighted  with  gas,"  says  the  record  of 
1829,  "and  the  effect  it  has  upon  the  eye  of  a  stranger  is  as  novel  as  it  is 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  117 

gratifying,  and  forms  one  of  the  principal  modern  improvements,  especially 
when  contrasted  with  the  first  attempt  at  lighting  the  streets  made  by  our 
ancestors  in  1697. 

"The  establishment  for  the  making  of  gas  is  one  of  the  largest  edifices 
in  the  city,  and  is  situated  in  Rhynder  street,  corner  of  Hester,  near  the 
east  part  of  Canal  street.  The  gas,  formed  from  oil,  is  conducted  into  the 
great  reservoirs,  or  gasometers,  which  contain  each  5,000  barrels,  and  are 
equal  in  size  to  a  large  brewer's  vat,  being  50  paces  in  circumference  and 
20  feet  in  depth.  The  gas  is  measured  by  a  curious  machine  called  a  meter, 
and  passes  out  into  all  the  principal  streets  south  of  Grand  street  through 
pipes  of  cast  iron,  of  various  sizes,  from  6-inch  to  2-inch  bore,  and  by 
lateral  pipes  into  the  private  houses,  where  the  company  pipes  end,  and  the 
whole  interior  fitting  is  done  at  the  expense  of  the  person  using  the  gas. 
The  company  supplies  the  public  with  oil  gas  by  the  meter  only.  The  charge 
for  every  cubic  foot  registered  is  $1.  The  meter  is  a  patent  machine  made  in 
London,  and  is  sold  or  rented  to  each  customer,  as  they  may  prefer,  the  cost 
being  from  $16  up,  according  to  size."  For  a  ten  light  meter  in  the  old  days 
44  cents  a  quarter  was  charged;  fifteen  light,  62i/^  cents;  thirty  light,  $1.50. 
Those  purchasing  meters  from  the  company  kept  them  in  repair  at  their 
own  cost.  Here  is  a  scale  showing  the  comparative  quantity  of  light  given 
out  by  each  burner  generally:  The  one  jet  burner  gave  a  light  equal  to 
one  mould  candle;  the  two  jet  burner,  2  1-12  mould  candles;  the  three,  4  2-3. 
A  ten  hole  argand  gave  a  light  equal  to  ten  mould  candles.  And  here  is  an 
interesting  end  of  the  record:  "By  regulating  the  cock,  the  quantity  of 
light  given  out,  and,  consequently,  the  gas  consumed  by  each  burner,  may 
be  reduced  at  pleasure.  The  comparative  cost  of  the  oil  gaslight  is  consid- 
erably less  than  the  cost  of  that  produced  from  mould  candles  or  from  oil 
lamps.  But  the  cleanliness,  the  beauty  and  the  convenience  of  the  gas 
over  any  other  light  is  the  principal  cause  of  its  being  preferred,  without 
reference  to  expense." 

In  1829  the  company  had  laid  fifteen  miles  of  castiron  pipes  in  the 
principal  business  streets.  The  pipes  were  imported  from  England,  and 
"were  subjected  to  a  severe  proof  to  test  their  quality  before  being  used." 

On  April  20,  1795,  "Rickett's  Amphitheatre  offered  to  exhibit  one 
evening  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  to  purchase  firewood,  which  was  accepted 
by  the  corporation,  and  the  sum  of  $340  was  collected  on  the  occasion." 
Bakers  this  year  were  allowed  a  profit  of  12  shillings  on  one  hundredweight 
of  flour,  and  the  Powles  Hook  ferry  was  leased  for  £250  a  year.  Hoboken 
ferry  was  not  so  prosperous,  as  it  leased  for  £95  a  year. 

In  the  summer  of  1795  John  Jay,  the  newly  elected  Federal  Governor 
of  New  York,  arrived  from  England  with  a  new  treaty.  Jay  was  in  Eng- 
land when  he  received  the  nomination  for  Governor,  and  the  opposition  in 
his  absence  used  all  kinds  of  arguments  to  excite  distrust  in  him.  At  the 
April  election  he  was  elected  Governor  by  a  large  majority  over  the  opposing 
candidate,  Robert  Yates,  and  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  was  elected  Lieutenant 
Governor.  Both  branches  of  the  legislature  were  also  carried  by  the  Feder- 
alists. After  his  arrival  from  England  Jay  was  welcomed  heartily  by  the 
people;  all  the  bells  in  the  city  mingled  with  the  roar  of  cannon.  He  was 
conducted  to  his  house  from  the  wharf  by  an  excited  multitude,  eager  to 


ii8  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

testify  their  gratitude  for  his  successful  mission  of  peace.  The  new  treaty 
bound  the  United  States  to  a  strict  neutrality  in  all  wars  betwe(;n  England 
and  other  nations,  and  was  denounced  by  the  anti-Federalist  or  Republican 
party  "as  a  shameful  repudiation  of  the  obligations  due  by  the  country  to 
France,"  and  efforts  were  nsed  to  induce  the  President  to  refuse  its  rati- 
fication. 

No  sooner  had  the  provisions  of  the  new  treaty  become  public  than 
an  anonymous  handbill  appeared  in  the  streets  of  New  York,  calling  on  the 
citizens  to  meet  in  front  of  the  City  Hall  on  July  18  to  express  their  oppo- 
sition to  the  treaty.  "On  the  day  appointed,"  saj^s  the  record,  "an  immense 
concourse  assembled  in  front  of  the  City  Hall.  Aaron  Burr  and  Brockholst 
Livingston,  the  brother-in-law  of  Jay,  who,  with  Chancellor  Livingston  and 
the  rest  of  that  influential  family,  had  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Republican 
party,  appeared  as  the  leaders  of  the  opposition.  Alexander  Hamilton  and 
Richard  Varick  stood  for  the  Federalists  and  the  treaty.  The  latter  party 
succeeded  in  electing  a  chairman  from  among  their  number,  and  then  pro- 
posed to  adjourn.  Motions  and  counter  motions  were  made,  and  a  scene  of 
violence  ensued.  Hamilton  mounted  the  stoop  of  an  old  Dutch  house  which 
stood  on  the  corner  of  Wall  and  Broad  streets,  with  its  gable  end  to  the 
street,  and  attempted  to  speak  in  defence  of  the  treaty,  when  he  was  rudely 
thrown  from  his  place  and  dragged  through  the  streets  by  the  excited  mul- 
titude. The  tumult  soon  increased  to  such  a  degree  that  business  became 
out  of  the  question.  When  a  proposition  was  made  by  some  one  from  among 
the  mass  to  adjourn  to  the  Bowling  Green  and  burn  the  treaty,  a  thunder  of 
'Ayes!'  shook  the  watchhouse  on  the  south  corner  of  Broad  and  Wall  streets 
to  its  foundation,  and  to  the  Bowling  Green  they  adjourned,  shouting  and 
huzzaing,  where  the  treaty  was  burned  to  the  sound  of  the  'Carmagnole,' 
beneath  the  folds  of  the  French  and  American  colors."  On  August  15,  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  the  treaty  was  signed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, and  its  immediate  effect  was  to  avert  a  war  from  which  the  United 
States  could  have  derived  no  possible  advantage.  ^ 

While  the  city  was  in  political  throes  a  British  frigate  entered  New 
York  Harbor  with  several  cases  of  yellow  fever  on  board.  The  disease  spread 
rapidly.  Here  is  the  record:  "The  yellow  fever  prevailed  to  an  alarming 
degree  in  this  city  during  the  summer  and  fall.  Seven  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  persons  died  with  it  during  the  season."  On  October  6,  "$7,000  remitted 
from  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  by  Matthew  Clarkson,  Mayor,  for  the  relief 
of  the  distressed  citizens  of  New  York,  and  also  $505.25  from  the  citizens 
of  Southwark." 

The  year  1795  is  memorable  for  the  completion  of  the  first  edifice  of 
the  New  York  Society  Library,  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  Cedar  and 
Nassau  streets,  on  a  lot  thirty  feet  wide  and  of  irregular  depth.  The  struc- 
ture was  imposing.  It  was  built  of  brownstone,  with  three-quarter  Corin- 
thian columns,  resting  on  a  projecting  basement,  with  ornamental  iron 
balustrades  forming  a  balcony.  The  membership  of  the  society  at  this  time 
was  nearly  one  thousand,  and  comprised  leading  citizens  of  all  occupations. 
In  1836,  owing  to  the  advancing  tide  of  commerce,  the  society  moved  to 
Broadway  and  Leonard  street. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


(1786-1797.) 


Theatres  and  Theatricals  in  New  York  from  1732 — Introduction  of  Italian 

Opera — Old  City's  Opinion  of  the  Derivation  of  the 

Word  Drama — Theatre  Receipts  in  1827. 

The  history  of  the  New  York  stage  dates  back  to  September,  1732, 
when  a  company  of  professional  actors  arrived  from  London  and  secured 
a  room  in  a  building  near  the  junction  of  Pearl  street  and  Maiden  Lane, 
capable  of  seating  four  hundred  persons.  With  a  slight  intermission  they 
continued  their  performances  here  until  February,  1734,  when  the  com- 
pany was  disbanded.  Some  of  their  productions  were  "Cato:  A  Tragedy," 
and  "The  Recruiting  Officer,"  "The  Beaux'  Strategem,"  and  "The  Busy^ 
body,"  comedies.  Individuals  and  minor  companies  entertained  the  old 
citizens  up  to  the  winter  of  174  9,  when  a  company  crossed  the  Atlantic 
and  began  a  season  of  eight  months'  entertainment. 

On  the  estate  of  Rip  Van  Dam  the  first  Nassau  Street  Theatre  was 
built.  It  stood  between  John  street  and  Maiden  Lane,  a  two-story  house, 
with  high  gables.  The  opening  bill,  on  March  5,  1750,  was  "Richard  III," 
with  Thomas  Kean  as  Richard.  It  was  in  this  house  on  December  21,  1751, 
that  "Othello"  was  played  for  the  first  time  in  America.  September  17, 
1753,  in  a  theatre  on  the  east  side  of  Nassau  street,  Lewis  Hallam,  who 
had,  according  to  the  record,  been  refused  a  license  in  the  early  part  of 
the  year  to  perform  in  New  York,  received  permission  to  present  the  "Con- 
scious Lovers"  and  "Damon  and  Phillida"  in  the  theatre  mentioned.  Here 
also  "Romeo  and  Juliet,"  on  January  28,  1754,  had  its  first  representation. 

The  corporation  of  the  old  city  seemed  to  look  with  disfavor  on  the- 
atricals, as  the  record  says  they  refused  permission  to  another  company 
to  open  a  new  playhouse  erected  on  Cruger's  Wharf,  between  Old  and 
Coenties  slips,  by  David  Douglass,  and  known  as  David  Douglass's  Theatre. 
The  corporation  relented,  however,  and  the  theatre  was  opened  on  Decem- 
ber 28,  1758,  with  the  tragedy  of  "Jane  Shore."  In  1759  the  company  left 
New  York  on  tour,  and  on  its  return  in  1761  occupied  a  new  theatre  on 
the  corner  of  what  is  now  Nassau  and  Beekman  streets.  "Henry  IV"  was 
given  for  the  first  time  on  the  American  stage  here,  and  "Hamlet"  for  the 
first   time   in   New  York. 

On  the  north  side  of  John  street,  near  Broadway,  on  December  7,  1767, 
a  new  playhouse  was  opened.  Seasons  of  entertainment  were  given  in  it 
up  to  October  24,  1774,  when  Congress  recommended  "that  all  places  of 
public  amusement  should  be  closed."    A  short  list  of  the  plays  given  will 

119 


120  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

be  interesting  to  the  student  of  old  New  York  affairs,  as  indicating  the 
tastes  of  the  theatregoers  then:  "Richard  III,"  "Hamlet,"  "Cymbeline," 
"Romeo  and  Juliet,"  "King  Lear,"  "The  Merchant  of  Venice,"  "Macbeth," 
"Cato,"  "She  Stoops  to  Conquer,"  "The  Beggar's  Opera"  and  "The  Irish 
Widow." 

During  the  occupation  of  the  city  by  the  British  in  1777  entertain- 
ments were  given  in  this  house  by  the  British  offlcers.  A  play  written  by 
Major  Andre  in  1781  was  also  produced  here. 

Here  is  something  interesting  for  those  who  "want  to  see  a  man"  be- 
tween the  acts  of  plays  in  New  York  theatres  to-day: 

"It  is  customary  to  have  a  dramshop  in  the  neighborhood  of  theatres 
(as  is  the  case  in  this  city),  where  the  audience,  exhausted  by  attention  to 
the  performance,  may  recruit  their  spirits  by  taking  a  glass  of  gin,  or  some- 
thing equally  exhilarating,  between  the  acts;  and  as  it  often  happens  that 
immediately  upon  drinking  a  dram  the  person  emits  a  sound  similar  to  the 
letter  'a,'  the  dram  and  the  sound  have  been  united,  and  thus  dram-a,  or 
drama,  is  found."  The  foregoing  is  from  an  advertisement  in  Gaine's  paper. 
The  last  performance  occurred  in  the  John  Street  Theatre  on  January 
13,  1798.  ^ 

'  Rickett's  Amphitheatre  was  situated  in  Greenwich  street,  near  the 
Battery,  and  in  1796  was  known  as  the  Pantheon.  "Venice  Preserved"  was 
the  opening  production  in  this  year,  with  Thomas  Abthorpe  Cooper  as 
Pierre. 

On  January  29,  1798,  the  Park  Theatre,  situated  on  what  is  now  the 
site  of  the  Syndicate  Building,  in  Park  Row,  was  opened.  It  had  a  frontage 
of  80  feet  and  a  depth  of  165  feet.  The  plan  for  its  construction  was  fur- 
nished by  the  builder  and  engineer  of  the  London  Thames  tunnel,  Mark 
Isambard  Brunei.  Managerial  quarrels  hindered  the  work  on  the  structure 
between  the  time  it  was  designed,  in  1793,  and  the  year  building  operations 
began,  in  1795.  On  the  opening  night  it  was  in  an  unfinished  state.  "All 
in  a  Bustle;  or.  The  New  House,"  was  the  curtain  raiser,  and  "As  You  Like 
It"  and  a  musical  entertainment  called  "The  Purse;  or,  American  Tar," 
completed  the  bill.  "The  doors  will  be  opened  at  five,  and  the  curtain 
drawn  at  a  quarter  past  six,"  says  the  programme.  "Ladies  and  gentlemen 
are  requested  to  be  particular  in  sending  servants  early  to  keep  boxes,"  and 
"will  please  direct  their  servants  to  sit  down  v/ith  their  horses'  heads  to- 
ward the  New  Brick  Meeting,  and  take  up  with  their  horses'  heads  toward 
Broadway."  For  the  first  performance  boxes  were  8  shillings,  the  pit 
6  shillings  and  the  gallery  4  shillings."  Four  nights  were  given  to  per- 
formances, and  the  first  night's  receipts  were  $1,232,  with  many  unable  to 
get  in.  The  regular  admission  price  was:  Gallery,  25  cents;  pit,  50  cents, 
and  box,  $1.  In  the  summer  of  1798  the  house  was  in  complete  order  and 
beautifully  furnished,  says  the  record.  For  a  company  of  twenty-six  persons 
and  an  orchestra  of  fourteen,  the  salary  list  of  the  Park  Theatre  amounted 
to  $1,161  weekly.  Food  for  thought  in  this  when  compared  with  the  salaries 
of  to-day  m  our  metropolitan  theatres.  Indeed,  in  1798  the  highest  salary 
paid  in  America  was  $100  a  week. 

The  Park  Theatre  continued  as  the  playhouse  of  New  York,  of  course 
with  varying  fortunes,  until  May  25,  1820,  when,  after  the  performance 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  121 

of  the  "Siege  of  Tripoli,"  for  the  benefit  of  Major  Noah,  the  theatre  was 
discovered  to  be  on  fire.  It  was  entirely  consumed,  the  actors  losing  their 
effects.  The  proprietors  at  this  time  were  John  Jacob  Astor  and  John  K. 
Beekman. 

After  the  fire  building  operations  were  immediately  begun,  and  on 
September  1,  1821,  the  New  Park  Theatre  rose  from  the  ruins  of  the  old 
one.  It  was  165  feet  deep,  running  through  to  the  present  Theatre  Alley, 
and  80  feet  on  Park  Row.  Junius  Brutus  Booth  made  his  New^  York  debut 
here  on  October  5,  1821,  as  Richard  III,  and  Charles  Mathews,  the- elder, 
played  Goldfinch,  in  "The  Road  to  Ruin,"  on  his  first  appearance  in  New 
York,  on  November  22,  1822.  When  Edmund  Kean— who,  during  his  first 
engagement  in  New  York,  had  excited  the  ire  of  theatregoers  by  his  con- 
vivial habits  and  appearing  on  the  stage  in  an  unfit  condition — ^after  an 
absence  of  four  years,  reappeared  in  New  York  on  November  14,  1825,  as 
Richard  III  at  the  Park  Theatre,  he  was  repaid  for  his  previous  misconduct 
by  "such  a  powerful  and  unexpected  burst  of  catcalls  and  shov/er  of  hisses 
that  he  for  a  moment  quailed.  After  standing  upon  the  stage  fully  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  he  was  compelled  to  retire.  He  made  a  second  attempt,  but  was 
again  driven  indignantly  off.  Notwithstanding  the  uproar,  it  v/as  decreed 
in  the  greenroom  that  the  play  should  go  on.  And  on  it  went,  'Richard 
IIP  in  pantomime."  On  January  4,  1826,  Kean  appeared  at  the  Park  The- 
atre as  King  Lear,  "and  was  loudly  and  flatteringly  received  by  every  part 
of  the  house,  with  cries  of  'Bravo,  Kean!'  " 

"^  Italian  opera  was  first  introduced  to  America  in  this  theatre  on  No- 
vember 29,  18  25.  The  orchestra  consisted  of  twenty-five  instruments — 
seven  violins,  two  tenors,  two  bassos,  three  clarinets,  two  horns,  two  trum- 
pets, a  bassoon,  a  kettledrum  and  a  piano.  The  opera  was  "The  Barber  of 
Seville,"  and  admission  prices  were  advanced  during  its  presentation. 
"Semiramide"  was  also  first  heard  in  this  country  at  the  Park  Theatre  on 
April  25,   1826. 

On  December  16,  1848,  the  new  theatre  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

The  first  summer  theatre  in  New  York  was  Mount  Vernon  Garden,  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  Broadway  and  Leonard  street.  Performances  were 
carried  on  by  a  portion  of  the  Park  Theatre  company,  who  were  disengaged 
during  the  summer.  It  v/as  opened  on  July  19,  1800,  with  a  light  comedy. 
Tickets  of  admission  were  4  shillings,  and  the  performances  began  at  7 
p.  m.  sharp.  Another  theatre,  though  not  of  the  summer  variety,  v/as  the 
Grove  Theatre,  which  stood  in  what  is  now  Madison  street,  east  of  Cathe- 
rine, and  was  opened  on  March  9,  1804.  T.  Abthorpe  Cooper  played  there, 
and  "The  Honeymoon"  had  its  initial  presentation  in  America  at  this 
house  on  May  29,  1805. 

The  New  York  Theatre,  in  the  Bowery,  or  the  Bovvery  Theatre,  as  it  is 
known  to  most  New  Yorkers,  was  opened  for  theatrical  representations  on 
October  16,  1826,  under  the  management  of  Charles  Gilfert.  The  founda- 
tion stone  was  laid  by  Philip  Hone,  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  in  May  of  that 
year.  "As  one  of  the  modern  public  ornaments  of  this  city,"  said  Mayor 
Hone  in  his  address,  "this  building  stands  pre-eminent."  As  the  old  Bowery 
Theatre  still  stands,  though  lustreless  and  forgotten  by  most  persons  of  the 
present  day,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  describe  it  as  it  was  in  1826: 


122  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

"The  building  has  a  front  on  the  Bowery  of  75  feet,  is  175  feet  deep 
and  50  feet  high  to  the  cornice;  thirty-three  feet  of  the  front  in  the  centre 
recedes  sixteen  feet,  the  entablature  of  which  is  supported  by  two  Grecian 
Doric  columns  and  two  antiB  of  corresponding  proportions;  the  diameter 
of  the  columns  is  5  feet,  their  height  30  feet  and  the  height  of  the  entabla- 
ture 10  feet.  The  whole  front,  and  all  its  ornaments  except  the  cornice, 
is  finished  with  cement  on  hard  brick  in  imitation  of  marble  a  little  shaded. 
The  entire  front  is  the  boldest  execution  of  the  Doric  order  in  the  United 
States,  and  is  also  more  exactly  according  to  the  true  spirit  and  style  of 
the  best  Grecian  examples  in  the  detail  than  any  other  specimens  yet  exe- 
cuted. Had  there  been  six  columns  in  front,  as  was  originally  intended  by 
the  architect,  but  prevented  by  a  wish  on  the  part  of  the  proprietors  for 
greater  economy  of  room,  this  would  unquestionably  have  been  the  most 
perfect  as  well  as  the  boldest  specimen  of  Grecian  Doric  in  this  country. 
The  basement  and  walls  are  massive,  and  constructed  of  bluestone  and 
brick." 

The  interior  of  the  theatre  in  18  26  was  elegant,  chaste  and  classical 
in  its  design,  the  groundwork  being  of  a  light  color,  with  ornaments  in 
the  Grecian  style.  The  scenery  was  painted  by  Messrs.  Coyle,  Inman  and 
others,  and  was  considered  beautiful.  "The  whole  is  lighted  with  gas," 
said  an  authority,  "in  the  most  brilliant  and  effective  manner,  and  by  means 
of  globular  ground  glass  shades  the  light  is  softened  and  the  effect  is  highly 
agreeable  to  the  eye."  The  prices  of  admission  in  the  old  days  were: 
Boxes,  75  cents;  pit,  Zl^  cents,  and  gallery,  25  cents. 

It  was  in  this  theatre  that  Signorina  Garcia  performed  in  Italian  and 
English  opera,  and  received  what  was  then  considered  an  enormous  salary, 
$600  a  night.  The  prices  v.^ere  doubled  on  the  nights  of  her  appearance, 
but  the  authority  says  "the  house  was  filled  and  the  receipts  fully  justified 
the  manager's  liberality,  and  established  the  fashionable  character  of  the 
house." 

In  the  spring  of  1827  the  French  opera  dancers,  Mme.  Hutin,  M.  and 
Mme.  Achille,  Mile.  Celeste,  Mile.  Heloise,  M.  Barbiere  and  others  were 
introduced  to  the  American  public  and  drew  crowded  houses.  Many  Eng- 
lish performers  v/ere  brought  forward  on  the  boards  of  the  old  Bow«ry — 
Messrs.  Holland,  Chapman,  De  Camp  and  Pearman  and  Mesdames  George 
and  Rock  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Young.  Our  own  Forrest  made  his  appearance 
there.  To-day  the  old  playhouse  is  lost  in  the  shadow  cast  by  the  Third 
avenue  elevated  road,  and  characters  Hebraic  on  its  billboard  tell  what 
goes  on  within.  Memories  of  "The  Seven  Charmed  Bullets"  and  "Mazeppa" 
cluster  around  it  for  the  early  day  New  York  theatregoer,  but  they  are 
fleeting,  as  are  most  memories  of  New  York  of  the  last  century.  ^ 

The  La  Fayette  Theatre,  in  Laurens  street  (now  West  Broadway),  near 
Canal,  was  first  opened  in  18  24  as  a  circus  and  riding  school,  and  on  No- 
vember 6,  1825,  was  occupied  for  the  Grand  Canal  Ball,  "and  fitted  up  for 
that  occasion  with  great  splendor."  The  Grand  Canal  Ball  was  the  con- 
cluding festivity  incident  to  the  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal  and  given  by 
the  oflicers  of  the  militia.  Melodramas  and  other  productions  were  pre- 
sented in  the  La  Fayette  at  low  prices  of  admission — 25  to  75  cents.  Charles 
Sandford   was   the   proprietor,   and    his   manager    was   Mr.    Burroughs,    the 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  '     123 

principal  performers  being  Mrs.  Sandford,  Mrs.  Duff,  Miss  Riddle,  Mr.  Bur- 
roughs. Mr.  Keene,  a  vocalist;  Mr.  Maywood  and  Mr.  Thayer.  The  building 
covered  a  space  80  by  200  feet.     A  Catholic  church  is  on  the  site  now. 

Another  place  of  amusement  in  the  city  was  The  Theatre,  in  Chatham 
street.  From  a  small  building  fitted  up  in  1823  for  summer  performances, 
with  a  large  awning  to  cover  the  spectators,  was  evolved  in  1824  a  neat  and 
commodious  brick  building.  It  was  opened  on  May  10  "by  a  poetical  prize 
address."  "The  entrance  to  the  theatre  was  forbidding  in  appearance,  being 
from  Chatham  street  through  a  long,  narrow  entry  leading  into  an  open 
garden  ornamented  with  shrubbery  and  a  fountain,  but  in  the  rear  of  the 
buildings  on  the  street  was  a  large,  plain  edifice,  occupying  the  whole 
interior  of  the  block  and  quite  imposing  in  appearance." 

The  Circus  vv^as  in  Broadway,  between  Canal  and  Grand  streets,  in 
1828.  It  was  a  large  wooden  building,  occasionally  occupied  as  a  theatre 
and  for  equestrian  performances,  principally  during  the  warm  season. 

In  the  fall  of  1826,  "in  a  conspicuous  situation  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  city,  and  quite  remote  from  the  populous  part  of  New  York."  Mount 
Pitt  Circus  was  erected  in  Grand  street.  The  record  says  it  was  finished 
and  occupied  before  the  public  was  generally  aware  of  its  existence.  When 
the  La  Fayette  was  discontinued  for  circus  use  its  company  exhibited  at  the 
Mount  Pitt. 

Here  is  an  interesting  paragraph  for  theatre  managers: 

"The  amount  of  receipts  of  all  the  various  places  of  recreation  in  this 
city  (1827),  such  as  theatres,  circuses  and  gardens,  may  be  estimated,  from 
the  best  data,  as  rather  over  than  under  $500,000  per  annum,  which  is 
far  more  encouragement  in  theatricals,  in  regard  to  our  population,  than  is 
given  by  any  other  city  of  equal  size  in  Europe  or  America.  In  the  busiest 
seasons  of  the  year  New  York  has  within  it  from  five  to  ten  thousand 
strangers,  all  eager  for  amusement,  and  rushing  to  the  various  spectacles 
with  avidity.  This,  together  with  the  moderate  prices  and  the  increased 
population  of  the  city,  explains  the  cause  of  the  liberal  encouragement 
received  by  all  the  places  of  amusement;  and  it  is  certainly  due  to  the 
various  managers  to  state  that  they  are  extremely  zealous  in  acquiring, 
and  liberal  in  remunerating,  the  best  talent  of  English  and  American  per- 
formers. No  city  in  the  United  States  supports  a  greater  number  or  variety 
of  public  exhibitions;  and  merit  and  originality  in  every  department  are 
sure  to  be  well  rewarded." 


CHAPTER    XXV: 


(1796.) 

Opinion  of  an  English  Actor  in  1797  of  New  York— The  Potter's  Field- 
State  Prison  at  Greenv/ich — First  Superintendent  of 
Public  Works — Treadmill. 

As  we  are  now  within  four  yeai's  of  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  it  will  not  be  inopportune  to  quote  the  opinion  of  an  English 
actor,  John  Bernard,  regarding  New  York  in  1797.  In  "Retrospections  of 
America,"  published  by  Harper  &  Bros,  in  1886,  from  manuscript  notes  in 
the  possession  of  Mrs.  Bernard,  said:  "It  resembled  a  large  fair  or  a 
cluster  of  inns  rather  than  an  abiding  city,  all  its  inhabitants  looking  like 
birds  of  passage,  with  the  exception  of  the  few  aboriginal  Dutch  who  had 
not  been  swept  away  by  the  European  flood  to  their  yellow  brick  dwellings 
on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  But  these  kept  themselves  distinct  even 
from  the  other  natives,  regarding  the  entire  body  as  a  variety  of  Arabs  who 
had  been  expelled  from  Europe  for  their  robberies.  They  maintained  their 
houses  like  fortifications,  their  doors  and  v/indows  were  closed  and  barred, 
their  garden  walls  armed  with  glass  bottles  in  a  bed  of  mortar,  and  they 
sitting  on  their  'stoops'  so  dilated  as  not  to  leave  room  for  a  cat  to  pass, 
and  rolling  waves  of  smoke  from  their  melancholy  pipes  to  warn  the 
stranger  off.  They  were  a  marked  contrast  to  the  spare  but  muscular 
proportions  of  the  other  residents,  the  eternal  restlessness  of  the  foreigners, 
or  the  splashing,  sprawling  progress  of  the  Yankees.  The  world  seemed  to 
be  standing  still  with  the  one;  the  others  seemed  to  be  carrying  all  the 
world  before  them. 

"The  habits  of  the  New  York  merchants  reminded  me  of  my  friends 
at  Guernsey.  They  breakfasted  at  eight  or  half  past,  and  by  nine  were 
in  their  counting  houses,  laying  out  the  business  of  the  day;  at  ten  they 
were  on  their  wharves,  with  aprons  round  their  waists,  rolling  hogsheads 
of  rum  and  molasses;  at  twelve  at  market,  flying  about  as  dirty  and  as 
diligent  as  porters;  at  two  back  again  to  the  rolling,  heaving,  hallooing 
and  scribbling.  At  four  they  went  home  to  dress  for  dinner;  at  seven,  to 
the  play;  at  eleven,  to  supper." 

In  1796  "a  potter's  field  v/as  bought  for  a  burial  place,  and  a  keeper 
appointed  at  six  shillings  a  day."  This  ground  was  then  at  the  junction  of 
the  Greenwich  and  Albany  roads,  but  in  1800  the  city  authorities,  "deeming 
it  too  near  the  public  thoroughfares,"  selected  what  is  now  the  site  of 
Washington  Square  for  a  new  potter's  field,  "on  account  of  its  retired 
location."  Strong  protests  were  made  by  the  property  owners  in  the 
vicinity  to  the  change,  and  they  offered  to  present  a  piece  of  ground  in 

124 


i 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  125 

another  part  of  the  city  to  the  corporation,  but  the  officials  remained  firm, 
and  it  was  not  until  1823,  when  a  new  burial  ground  was  laid  out  between 
Fortieth  and  Forty-second  streets,  on  Fourth  and  Fifth  avenues,  containing 
ten  acres,  at  a  cost  of  $8,449,  that  the  old  Potter's  Field  was  levelled  and 
Washington  Square  was  formed  on  its  site.  One-third  of  the  ground  com- 
posing this  square  was  purchased  for  $80,000  in  1824. 

The  appointment  of  the  first  Superintendent  of  Public  Works  and  Re- 
pairs and  the  surveying  and  laying  out  of  West  street,  also  the  completion 
of  the  State  Prison  at  Greenwich — the  second  of  its  kind  in  the  United 
States  and  "designed  for  convicts  of  a  higher  grade" — occurred  in  1796. 

Here  begins  an  interesting  history.  In  the  old  days  breakers  of  the 
law  were  confined  in  the  Stadt  Huys,  though  prior  to  its  erection  Fort 
Amsterdam  contained  a  dungeon,  in  which  Indians  taken  in  skirmishes 
between  their  tribe  and  the  burghers  were  confined,  and  perhaps  Hendrick 
Jansen,  who  was  convicted  of  having  slandered  Governor  Kieft  in  1G38,  was 
confined  in  it.  We  are  certain,  however,  that  he  was  compelled  to  "stand 
at  the  gate  of  the  fort  at  the  ringing  of  the  bell  and  ask  the  Governor's 
pardon,"  and  that  others,  after  a  similar  confinement  for  greater  crimes, 
were  compelled  to  "ride  a  horse  with  a  razorlike  back  for  two  hours, 
while  weights  and  chains  were  hung  on  their  feet."  But  to  our  story  of 
prisons.  In  1G4  2,  when  the  Stadt  Huys  was  erected  in  Dock  street  (now 
Pearl),  at  the  head  of  Coenties  slip,  a  small  room  on  the  first  floor  was 
set  aside  for  prisoners,  with  the  Provost  Marshal  as  keeper.  The  Provost 
received  one  shilling  for  every  prisoner  committed,  and  was  paid  twelve 
stivers  a  day  for  the  support  of  each  prisoner.  As  he  was  a  combined  sheriff, 
warden,  policeman  and  jailer,  his  duties  became  complicated  with  the 
growth  of  the  colony,  so  that  an  official  called  a  schout  v/as  appointed  to 
relieve  him  of  those  outside  of  the  prison.  Until  1700  the  Stadt  Huys 
figured  in  prison  annals.  When  the  new  City  Hall,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Sub-Treasury  Building,  in  Wall  street,  v/as  built  in  1700,  the  pris- 
oners were  confined  in  dungeons  in  the  cellar,  while  the  debtors  were 
imprisoned  in  the  attic  apartments,  "from  the  dormer  windov.'S  of  which 
they  used  to  hang  out  old  shoes  and  bags  to  solicit  alms  of  the  passersby." 
Another  penalty  incurred  by  evil-doers  was  that  of  being  the  chief  figures 
in  a  whipping  procession.  From  Broad  street  below  Wall  a  cart,  to  the 
tail  of  which  criminals  were  tied,  started  around  the  town,  while  sturdy 
arms  plied  whips  on  the  backs  of  the  unfortunates  as  It  proceeded.  The 
punishment  of  riding  on  a  razorlike  back  of  a  horse  was  improved  on  in 
1700.  Horse  and  rider  were  placed  on  a  cart  and  trotted  up  and  down  the 
streets.  Mary  Price  was  the  first  person  treated  to  the  new  form  of  pun- 
ishment, and  the  horse  was  known  as  "the  horse  of  Mary  Price." 

The  City  Hall  was  the  only  prison  until  1760,  and  in  it  Zenger  was 
confined  during  his  struggle  for  the  freedom  of  the  press,  which  has  been 
previously  mentioned.  In  1758  the  first  real  jail,  on  what  was  until 
a  short  time  ago  the  site  of  the  Hall  of  Records,  was  built.  At  first 
named  the  New  Jail,  it  afterward  became  known  as  the  Debtors'  Prison. 
It  was  a  small  stone  building,  nearly  square,  three  stories  high,  with  a 
belfry  rising  from  the  centre.  There  was  no  settled  allowance  in  this  jail 
for  the  prisoners,  nor  had  they  bedding.     The  Humane  Society,  before  men- 


126  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

tioned,  and  donations  from  friends  and  the  public  were  all  they  could 
rely  on.  Its  limits  extended  to  the  whole  city  and  island  south  of  Love 
Lane  (Twenty-first  street).  In  "The  Gazette  and  Mercury"  of  July  27, 
1772,  is  an  advertisement  showing  the  condition  of  the  prisoners  in  the 
Debtors'  Prison  and  the  attitude  of  the  public  regarding  them:  "The  Debtors 
confined  in  the  Gaol  of  the  City  of  New  York,  impressed  with  a  grateful 
sense  of  the  obligations  they  are  under  to  a  respectable  publick  for  the 
generous  contributions  that  have  been  made  to  them,  beg  leave  to  return 
their  hearty  thanks,  because  they  have  been  preserved  from  perishing  in  a 
dreary  prison  from  hunger  and  cold." 

In  1775  the  Debtors'  Prison  was  too  small  to  accommodate  all  classes  of 
prisoners,  and  a  building,  known  as  the  Bridewell,  was  built  in  the  pai*k 
on  the  west  side  of  the  City  Hall.  It  was  a  small  structure  of  gray  stone, 
two  stories  high,  besides  the  basement.  On  the  first  floor,  on  the  right, 
was  the  afterward  famous  Long  Room,  occupied  entirely  by  females,  in 
which  there  was  a  division  to  separate  tne  whites  from  the  people  of  color. 
On  the  second  floor  there  were  two  wards,  called  the  Upper  Hall  and  the 
Chain  Room.  The  Upper  Hall  was  occupied  by  the  higher  class  of  convicts, 
and  the  Chain  Room  by  the  lower  class.  Except  when  a  prisoner  was  under 
sentence  of  death,  no  fetters  were  applied,  and  even  then  only  a  light 
iron  chain  was  fastened  to  one  leg. 

On  August  27,  1776,  when  the  British  took  possession  of  the  city,  they 
found  the  Debtors'  Prison  and  the  Bridewell  empty,  and  placed  the  former 
in  charge  of  Cunningham,  the  brutal  Provost  Marshal  of  the  Revolution, 
from  whom  its  later  name.  The  Provost,  was  derived.  Cunningham  had  not 
forgotten  the  injuries  he  had  received  the  preceding  year  at  the  foot  of 
the  Liberty  Pole,  and,  the  opportunity  having  arrived  when  he  could  be 
revenged  on  the  patriots,  he  took  advantage  of  it.  Through  the  influence  of 
General  Gage  he  had  succeeded  to  this  post  on  the  retirement  of  William 
Jones  in  1775,  and  so  pleasing,  we  are  told,  was  his  conduct  to  his  superiors 
that  he  retained  his  place  until  the  evacuation.  Of  his  treatment  of  prison- 
ers an  authority  says:  "The  cruelty  practised  toward  the  inmates  of  the 
Provost  rivals  all  that  may  be  found  in  the  annals  of  Christendom.  Not 
content  with  seeing  them  die  a  slow  death  from  cold  and  starvation,  he 
poisoned  many  by  mingling  a  preparation  of  arsenic  with  their  food,  and  is 
said  to  have  boasted  that  he  had  thus  killed  more  of  the  rebels  with  his 
own  hand  than  had  been  slain  by  all  the  King's  forces  in  America." 

After  the  Revolution  the  Debtors'  Prison  was  again  put  to  its  proper 
use,  but  in  1817  the  debtors'  law  was  amended  "to  confine  only  those  who 
had  incurred  debts  for  amounts  larger  than  $25,"  thus  doing  away  with  an 
excess  of  misery.  In  1830  it  ceased  to  be  used  as  a  prison,  and  in  1835 
became  the  old  Register's  Office,  and  served  the  interests  of  the  people 
until  it  was  demolished  to  make  way  for  rapid  transit  improvements. 

The  Bridewell  was  scarcely  finished  at  the  time  mentioned,  the  windows 
were  yet  unglazed,  with  nothing,  says  the  historian,  but  iron  bars  to  keep 
out  the  cold.  Yet,  despite  the  excessive  inclemency  of  the  weather,  more 
than  eight  hundred  of  the  unfortunate  patriot  prisoners  of  Fort  Washington 
were  thrust  within  its  walls  on  the  day  of  the  capture,  and  left  there  for 
three  days  without  a  mouthful  of  food.      "Every  indignity  which    human 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  127 

Ingenuity  could  invent  was  heaped  upon  the  wretched  prisoners  in  the 
furtherance  of  the  policy  which  hoped  thus  to  crush  the  spirit  of  the 
army  by  disabling  those  that  had  been  taken  prisoners  for  future  service, 
and  terrifying  the  remainder  by  the  possibility  of  a  similar  fate." 

This  prison,  after  the  Revolution,  or,  rather,  after  the  War  of  1812, 
for  many  English  captives  were  confined  within  its  walls  during  that  time, 
resumed  its  career  as  the  general  city  jail.  The  prisoners  picked  oakum 
or  were  employed  on  public  works,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Mayor,  and 
were  allowed  each  day  half  a  pound  of  beef,  half  a  pound  of  bread  and  as 
much  Indian  meal  porridge  and  potatoes  as  they  could  consume.  The 
expense  of  supporting  the  convicts  was  considerable,  as  at  first  trials  took 
place  only  four  times  a  year,  and  those  held  for  slight  infractions  of  the 
law  had  to  await  examination  for  nearly  three  months.  Early  in  1828  the 
day  of  trial  was  set  for  the  first  Monday  of  every  month,  and  the  number 
of  prisoners  arraigned  was  170,  on  an  average.  The  Bridewell  was  de- 
stroyed in  1838,  and  some  of  the  stones  used  in  building  it  served  in  the 
erection  of  its  successor,  the  Tombs  prison,  on  the  Elm  street  side. 

The  Greenwich  State  Prison  was  described  as  "an  extensive,  convenient 
and  strongly  built  structure  of  the  Doris  order,  situated  at  Greenwich,  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  City  Hall,  and  occupying  one  of  the  most 
healthy  and  pleasant  spots  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson."  When  the  act 
appropriating  $208,000  to  relieve  the  crowded  Bridewell  and  the  New  Jail 
was  passed,  it  provided  for  two  buildings,  one  at  Albany  and  one  at  Green- 
wich. It  was  decided  that  Albany  was  too  far  removed  from  the  city, 
and  the  entire  fund  was  devoted  to  the  Greenwich  building.  It  was  opened 
for  the  reception  of  convicts  in  August,  1796,  and  seventy  prisoners  were 
transferred  to  it  from  the  other  prisons.  It  stood  at  the  "head  of  Amos 
street,  now  Tenth  street,  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,"  and  was  surrounded 
by  a  high  wall,  on  which  an  armed  sentry  was  constantly  pacing.  Beyond 
this  wall  was  the  wharf,  where  convicts  were  landed  from  points  up  the 
river.  Though  the  prison  was  situated  in  what  was  then  the  exclusive 
village  of  Greenwich,  no  resentment  was  offered  by  the  inhabitants  to  the 
authorities  for  placing  it  there;  they  rather  looked  on  the  scheme  as  one 
promising  a  future  rise  in  value  of  their  holdings,  and,  besides,  it  gave 
a  stately  air  to  the  rural  scenery.  However,  it  was  a  handsome  prison  in 
those  days,  and  profitable  to  the  corporation,  as  weaving,  spinning,  shoe- 
making,  brushmaking,  locksmithing  and  carpentry  were  carried  on.  The 
working  hours  were  twelve,  and  the  convicts  looked  forward  to  the  time  of 
their  release  when  they  might  profit  by  the  knowledge  acquired  of  the 
trades  taught  to  them  while  in  prison.  The  ration  of  each  prisoner  cost 
about  eight  cents  a  day,  consisting  of  Indian  meal  mush  and  molasses, 
pork,  black  bread,  ox  heads  and  hearts.  Three  persons  were  lodged  in 
each  of  the  fifty-two  cells,  which  caused  more  communication  between 
them  than  was  safe,  and  resulted  in  attempts  to  escape,  corruption  of 
morals  and  weariness  among  the  officials  in  their  attempts  to  maintain 
discipline.  An  inferior  class  of  keepers  supplanted  the  dishearted  ones, 
and  the  prisoners  were  herded  together  to  a  greater  extent,  even  children 
being  thrust  in  with  them.  Reading  of  books  was  discontinued,  inhuman 
whippings   were  administered,   and    it   was   said   at   the    time   that   bodies 


128  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

of  dead  convicts  were  buried  without  ceremony  in  Potter's  Field  or  turned 
over  to  dissectors.  Anyway,  chaos  reigned  in  Greenwich  Prison  and  called 
for  immediate  action  by  the  authorities,  who  decided  to  erect  another  prison 
to  reduce  the  strain  on  it  caused  by  overcrowding.  Greenwich  served  as  a 
prison  until  1829,  when  it  was  sold,  and  a  part  of  it  destroyed. 

The  building  designed  to  relieve  the  strain  on  the  State  Prison  at 
Greenwich  was  called  the  Penitentiarj%  and  stood  in  the  rear  of  what 
was  then  the  Almshouse  at  Bellevue,  "on  the  shores  of  the  East  River."' 
It  was  for  the  imprisonment  of  minor  offenders,  and  was  opened  on  May 
18,  1826.  It  was  a  bluestone  building,  325  feet  in  front,  with  two  wings 
of  150  feet  in  depth  each.  In  the  year  it  was  opened  for  prisoners  Bellevue 
Hospital  and  the  New  Almshouse  were  built  near  by,  and  the  three  build- 
ings were  inclosed  with  a  stone  wall,  including  tv,^enty-six  acres,  known 
henceforth  as  the  Bellevue  Establishment.  The  criminals  in  the  peniten- 
tiary were  employed  in  picking  oakum  and  breaking  stone  and  at  labor 
on  public  works.  In  1822  Mayor  Allen  had  the  treadmill  introduced  into 
the  prison,  but  it  was  abandoned  after  a  few  years'  trial. 

The  treadmill  was  a  deterrent  from  the  committing  of  future  crimes, 
and  was  found  highly  salutary  in  its  operation.  It  was  in  a  two  story 
stone  house,  sixty  feet  long,  near  the  prison.  In  one  part  of  the  building 
were  the  wheel  and  apparatus  and  in  the  other  was  the  machinery  for 
working  it.  The  wheel  was  similar  to  a  common  water  wheel,  25  feet  long 
and  6  feet  in  diameter.  On  the  external  part  of  this  wheel,  on  a  level 
with  the  axle,  the  prisoners  were  obliged  to  tread,  moving  up  together  as 
the  wheel  went  round,  and  at  the  same  time  edging  off  gradually  to  one 
end.  Every  two  minutes  a  bell  sounded,  and  one  prisoner  stepped  off  and 
was  permitted  to  sit  still  for  a  fev*^  minutes  while  another  took  his  place. 
In  this  manner  the  operation  continued  incessantly  for  several  hours.  As 
well  as  receiving  punishment,  the  prisoners  ground  the  corn  or  grain  for 
the  supply  of  coarse  food  to  the  establishment.  When  the  wheel  was  in 
operation  each  person  ascended  a  distance  equal  to  2,500  feet  in  an 
hour.  "> 

The  present  State  Prison  at  Ossining  was  opened  in  1828,  and  to  it 
were  removed  the  harder  convicts  from  the  prison  at  Greenwich,  and  their 
places  supplied  by  the  minor  offenders  from  the  Bridev/ell  and  the  New 
Jail.  In  1825  the  penal  institutions  of  the  city  were  increased  by  the 
establishment  of  a  House  of  Ptefuge  for  juvenile  offenders.  It  was  incor- 
porated in  18  24  and  opened  on  January  1,  1825,  in  the  United  States 
Arsenal,  in  Madison  Square,  with  nine  inmates — six  boys  and  three  girls. 
In  1839  the  building  v/as  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  institution  was 
transferred  to  the  fever  hospital  at  the  foot  of  East  Twenty-third  street, 
where  it  remained  until  1854,  when  a  new  building  was  erected  on  tlan- 
dall's  Island,  and  the  inmates  were  removed  to  it. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 
Keligions — Dutch  Reformed. 


History  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church — First  Members  Worshipped  in 

Loft  in  Mill — Customs  Prevailing  in  Three  Places  of 

Worship — First  Trial  of  Steamboat. 

To  tell  the  history  of  the  entrance  into  New  York  and  the  growth 
of  each  of  the  present  religious  denominations  would  require  more  space 
than  can  be  given  to  it  in  this  book.  What  follows,  therefore,  is  a  skeleton 
history,  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  beginning  with 
the  first  religious  denominations,  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  with  events 
set  down  as  they  were  found  in  various  records. 

When  Peter  Minuit,  the  first  Director  General  appointed  by  the  West 
India  Company  to  assume  charge  of  the  new  Dutch  colony,  and  his  council 
and  secretary  sailed  from  Amsterdam  in  the  Sea  Mew  on  December  19, 
1625,  they  had  with  them  two  lay  readers,  or  Consolers  of  the  Sick, 
Sebastien  Jansen  Crol  and  Jan  Huyghen,  the  latter  a  brother-in-law  of 
the  Director  General.  After  the  arrival  of  the  expedition  at  Manhattan 
Island  on  May  4,  1626,  and  the  acquisition  of  the  liand  upon  which  they 
were  to  settle,  the  organization  of  the  government  of  the  province  began, 
and,  while  it  had  been  undertaken  with  no  higher  aim  than  commercial 
speculation,  the  moral  and  spiritual  necessities  of  its  people  were  not 
entirely  overlooked.  Services  consisting  of  the  reading  of  the  Bible  and 
an  occasional  sermon  were  conducted  every  Sabbath  morning  by  the 
two  Consolers  of  the  Sick  already  mentioned,  in  the  loft  of  what  was 
then  considered  a  notable  building  a,s  well  as  a  useful  one — a  mill  for 
the  grinding  of  corn,  operated  by  horse  power,  located  in  what  is  now 
South  William  street,  near  Pearl.  On  April  7,  1628,  the  Rev.  Jonas 
Michaelius  arrived  at  Manhattan  to  assume  the  position  of  spiritual  director 
and  schoolmaster  at  the  request  of  the  directors  of  the  West  India  Com- 
pany. In  a  letter  sent  four  months  after  his  arrival  to  the  Rev.  Adrianus 
Smoutius,  at  Amsterdam,  he  says:  "Our  coming  here  was  agreeable  to  all, 
and  I  hope,  by  the  grace  of  the  Lord,  that  my  services  will  not  be  unfruitful. 
The  people,  for  the  most  part,  are  all  free,  somewhat  rough  and  loose, 
but  I  find  in  most  all  of  them  both  love  and  respect  toward  me.  .  .  .  We 
have  first  established  the  form  of  a  church  (gemeente),  and,  as  Brother 
Sebastien  Crol  very  seldom  comes  down  from  Fort  Orange,  because  the 
directorship  of  that  fort  and  the  trade  there  is  committed  to  him,  it  has 
been  thought  best  to  choose  two  elders  for  my  assistance  and  for  the  proper 
consideration  of  all  such  ecclesiastical  matters  as  might  occur."  The 
elders  appointed  were  Director  Minuit  and  his  brother-in-law,  Huyghen, 
and  partly  to  their  care  and  consideration  were  confided  the  fifty  communi- 

129 


130  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

cants  wlio  constituted  the  first  regularly  organized  church  society  on  Man- 
hattan Island. 

The  loft  in  the  horse  mill  was  used  as  a  place  of  public  worship  until 
the  arrival  of  the  second  Director  General  of  New  Netherland,  Wouter  Van 
Twiller,  in  April,  1633.  With  Van  Twiller  came  Dominie  Bogardus,  "a 
man  of  a  certain  order  of  talent  in  large  measure,  and  honored  for  his 
piety."  The  dominie,  seeing  the  inconvenient  place  of  public  worship  in 
the  loft  of  the  horse  mill,  and  knowing  the  value  put  by  the  West  India 
Company  on  the  proper  religious  observances  of  the  people,  requested  that 
a  new  and  more  commodious  structure  be  built.  It  was  a  plain  wooden 
edifice,  located  on  a  high  point  of  land  fronting  the  East  River,  near  what 
is  now  No.  33  Pearl  street.  As  the  river  front  came  up  as  far  as  Pearl 
street  at  that  time,  the  structure  was  a  conspicuous  object  to  vessels  coming 
up  the  bay.    This  was  the  first  church  building  on  Manhattan  Island. 

In  1642,  during  the  administration  of  the  third  Director  General  of 
the  colony,  the  "church  in  the  fort"  was  built,  to  supplant  "the  mean 
barn"  in  which  the  Dutch  worshipped  their  Creator.  It  was  of  stone, 
seventy-two  feet  long,  fifty  wide  and  sixteen  high,  and  cost  to  erect  2,500 
guilders.  It  stood  within  the  guadrangle  of  the  fort,  to  the  south  of  the 
Governor's  house,  and  against  the  east  wall.  This  situation  protected  it 
from  Indian  depredations.  The  roof  was  covered  with  oak  shingles,  which, 
from  exposure  to  the  weather,  became  blue,  like  slate.  Over  the  front 
door  Governor  Kieft  caused  to  be  erected  a  marble  slab  with  the  inscription: 

Anno  Domini,  1642, 

Wilhelm  Kieft,  Directeur  General, 

Heeft  de  gemeente  desen  tempel  doen  bouwen. 

The  service  of  the  Church  of  Holland  was  performed  in  this  structure 
until  1664,  when,  the  city  having  changed  masters  by  the  arrival  of  an 
English  force  under  Colonel  Nichols,  the  fort  and  its  buildings  v/ere  taken 
possession  of  by  the  English  troops. 

In  1656,  under  Stuyvesant,  who,  with  all  his  Christian  virtues,  was 
religiously  intolerant,  a  few  Lutherans  attempted  to  hold  religious  meetings 
in  the  colony,  but  were  proclaimed,  and  the  people  were  forbidden  to 
assemble  for  any  religious  service  not  in  harmony  with  the  Reformed 
Church.  Complaints  were  sent  to  Holland  regarding  the  affair,  and  the 
directors  of  the  company  notified  Stuyvesant  as  follows: 

"We  would  fain  not  have  seen  your  worship's  hand  set  to  the  placard 
against  the  Lutherans,  nor  have  heard  that  you  oppressed  them.  ...  It 
has  always  been  our  intention  to  let  them  enjoy  all  calmness  and  tran- 
quillity. Wherefore  you  will  not  hereafter  publish  any  similar  placards 
without  our  previous  consent,  but  allow  all  the  free  exercise  of  their 
religion  in  their  own  houses." 

Soon  after  the  Lutherans  in  Holland  sent  a  clergyman,  the  Rev. 
Ernestus  Goetwater,  to  New  Amsterdam,  to  organize  a  church,  but  the 
company,  in  the  instructions  sent  to  Stuyvesant,  put  in  a  proviso  that 
there  should  be  no  "conventicles."  The  Governor,  however,  used  his  own 
interpretation  of  the  instructions  he  had  received,  with  disastrous  results 
to  the  followers  of  Luther. 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  131 

In  1658  a  ship  arrived,  bringing  some  Quakers  who  had  been  expelled 
from  New  England.  Two  of  the  Quaker  women  began  to  preach  through 
the  streets.  They  were  arrested  and  taken  to  the  prison  in  the  fort.  After 
their  examination  by  the  authorities  they  were  placed  on  board  a  ship 
and  sent  to  Rhode  Island.  Many  other  punishments  were  meted  out  in  this 
year  to  the  Quakers,  but  persecution  seemed  to  make  them  stronger  in 
their  faith  and  increase  their  confidence,  and  as  the  years  rolled  on  they 
obtained  their  rights,  and  in  1704,  in  Green  street  alley,  between  Liberty 
street  and  Maiden  Lane,  they  occupied  the  site  of  their  first  place  of  wor- 
ship. 

During  1670,  when  the  British  Governor  Lovelace  controlled  the 
destinies  of  the  city,  he  offered  "1,000  guilders  per  annum,  with  a  dwelling 
house  free  of  rent,  and  firewood  gratis,"  to  any  minister  from  Holland 
who  would  come  and  take  charge  of  the  New  York  church.  Dominie  Wil- 
hemus  Van  Nieuwenhuysen  accepted  the  proposition,  and  in  1671  was 
installed.     This  was  the  first  Dutch  Episcopal  service  in  New  York. 

In  1676  ecclesiastical  troubles  broke  out  in  the  colony.  The  new 
dominie  took  exception  to  the  clerical  conduct  of  Dominie  Van  Rensselaer 
at  Albany,  and  declared  that  he  was  not  qualified  to  administer  the  sac- 
rament in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  having  been  ordained  in  England 
by  a  bishop.  He  forbade  him  to  baptize  children,  "occasioning  much 
ill  feeling."  Jacob  Leisler  also  accused  Dominie  Van  Rensselaer  of  "false 
preaching"  and  of  "uttering  dubious  words."  The  latter  was  brought  to 
New  York  for  trial,  but  was  acquitted,  and  the  plaintiff  was  ordered  to 
pay  all  costs  "for  giving  the  first  occasion  of  difference." 

In  1680  "the  church  in  the  fort"  became  too  small  to  accommodate 
the  congregation,  and  a  meeting  was  called  to  consider  the  best  measures 
for  building  a  new  one.  The  Dutch  and  English  clergymen  attended,  and, 
with  the  members  of  the  Council  and  other  leading  citizens,  voted  to  raise 
money  by  "free  will  or  gift,"  and  not  by  public  tax.  Certain  fines  were 
appropriated  by  the  Mayor  and  aldermen  toward  the  fund.  The  movement 
languished  until  December  19,  1691,  when  Abraham  De  Peyster  was  Mayor. 
Then  "a  lot  in  the  midst  of  a  beautiful  and  highly  cultivated  garden 
belonging  to  Mrs.  Dominie  Drisius  and  fronting  on  a  picturesque  little 
lane  called  Garden  Alley"  (now  Exchange  Place)  was  selected  as  the  site  of 
the  new  church.  The  work  of  building  "was  pushed  forward  with  dis- 
patch," so  that  in  1693  the  structure  was  ready  for  use. 

The  South  Dutch  Church,  in  Garden  street,  was  of  an  octagonal 
form,  with  a  brick  steeple  large  enough  to  afford  space  for  a  consistory 
room.  The  windows  were  large,  with  very  small  panes  set  in  lead 
and  curiously  emblazoned  with  the  coats  of  arms  of  the  Church  digni- 
taries. Several  escutcheons  also  hung  against  the  wall.  In  1766  it 
was  enlarged  and  repaired,  but  was  not  open  for  service.  In  1807  it 
was  rebuilt,  with  an  open  balcony  on  the  tower,  in  which  was  a  bell  which 
had  been  brought  from  Holland,  and  which  was  used  at  the  time  the  first 
church  was  built  to  convene  all  public  meetings  of  the  civil  authorities 
and  citizens.  In  1835,  during  a  great  fire  in  the  city,  this  church  was 
destroyed,  and  from  its  ashes  arose  Dr.  Hutton's  church,  which  stood  on 
Washington  Square,  and  the  South  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  Dr.  Macauley, 


132  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

pastor,  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  avenue  and  Twenty-first  street. 

In  1729  the  Middle  Dutch  Church  was  built  in  Nassau  street,  without 
pillars  or  gallery,  the  ceiling  forming  an  entire  arch  without  support.  In 
1784  the  pulpit  was  removed  from  its  original  place  on  the  west  side 
to  the  north  end  of  the  church,  and  galleries  were  built  on  the  east,  west 
and  south  sides.  In  184  4  it  was  purchased  by  the  United  States  for  the 
site  of  the  old  Post-office,  and  on  the  Sunday  evening  before  it  was  turned 
over  to  the  government  farewell  exercises  were  conducted  in  it  in  Dutch 
and  English,  a  sermon  was  preached,  an  historical  sketch  of  the  structure 
given,  a  psalm  sung  and  the  benediction  pronounced — "the  last  words  of 
prayer  in  the  old  building  being  in  the  language  of  the  ancient  Knicker- 
bocker." 

The  Fourth,  or  North,  Dutch  Church,  founded  in  1769,  stood  in  William 
street,  between  Fulton  and  Ann.  It  was  a  substantial  building  of  brown- 
stone,  built  originally  with  a  tiled  roof,  for  which  shingles  were  after- 
ward substituted.  Its  spire  was  two  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  from  the 
gallery  in  it  "one  of  the  finest  views  of  the  city  could  be  had."  Other 
churches  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  denomination  built  before  the  nineteenth 
century  were  the  Harlem  and  the  Greenwich  Village  places  of  worship. 
"Although  many  independent  congregations  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church 
have  since  been  formed,"  says  an  authority,  "the  Collegiate  Church  still 
exists — the  mother  Church  of  the  denomination  in  New  York  and  the 
oldest  ecclesiastical  organization  in  the  country." 

Before  leaving  this  subject  a  quotation  from  the  same  source  as  the 
foregoing  regarding  the  customs  that  prevailed  in  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  is  of  interest:  "Unlike  the  plainly  attired  Puritan  preachers,  the 
dominies  invariably  appeared  in  the  high  circular  pulpit  clad  in  a  gown  of 
black  silk,  with  large  flowing  sleeves.  The  pulpit  was  canopied  by  a 
ponderous  sounding  board.  The  first  psalm  was  set  with  movable  figures 
suspended  on  three  sides  of  the  pulpit,  so  that  every  one  on  entering 
might  prepare  for  the  opening  chorus.  Pews  were  set  aside  for  the  Gov- 
ernor, Mayor,  city  officers  and  deacons,  and  the  remaining  seats  were  held 
singly  by  the  members  for  life,  then  booked  at  their  death  to  the  first  appli- 
cant. The  clerk  occupied  a  place  in  the  deacon's  pew,  and  prefaced  the 
exercises  in  the  morning  by  reading  a  chapter  from  the  Bible,  and  in  the 
afternoon  by  chanting  the  Apostles'  Creed,  to  divert  the  thoughts  of  the 
people  from  worldly  affairs.  All  notices  designed  to  be  publicly  read  were 
received  by  him  from  the  sexton,  then  inserted  into  the  end  of  a  long 
pole,  and  thus  passed  up  to  the  cagelike  pulpit  where  the  minister  was 
perched,  far  above  the  heads  of  the  congregation.  It  was  his  business,  too, 
when  the  last  grains  of  sand  had  fallen  from  the  hourglass,  which  was 
placed  invariably  at  the  right  hand  of  the  dominie,  to  remind  him  by 
three  raps  with  his  cane  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  end  of  the  sermon. 

"Before  entering  the  pulpit  the  dominie  raised  his  hat  before  his  face, 
and  silently  offered  a  short  prayer  for  a  blessing  on  his  labors.  After 
uttering  the  concluding  word  of  his  text,  he  exclaimed:  'Thus  far!'  before 
proceeding  with  his  sermon.  When  the  sermon  was  over  the  deacons 
rose  in  their  places,  and,  after  listening  to  a  short  address  from  the  dominie, 
took  each  a  long  pole  with  a  black  velvet  bag  attached  to  the  end,  from 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  133 

which  a  small  alarm  bell  was  suspended,  and  passed  about  the  church  to 
collect  alms  for  the  poor.  At  the  Lord's  Supper  the  communicants,  in- 
variably dressed  in  black,  stood  round  the  communion  table  at  the  foot  of 
the  pulpit  and  received  the  emblems  from  the  minister's  own  hands,  while 
the  clerk  read  a  suitable  selection  from  the  Scriptures."  Many  of  these 
customs  still  exist  among  the  denomination,  and  the  traditions  of  none  are 
wholly  lost.    The  last  sermon  in  the  Dutch  language  was  preached  in  1803. 

Between  1786  and  the  sequential  year  of  the  chronology,  1796,  the 
population  of  New  York  City  had  nearly  doubled,  and  with  this  increase 
came  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  obliterate  what  they  considered 
old  conditions — among  them  slavery,  which  still  existed.  The  newspapers 
of  the  period,  some  of  which  are  before  the  writer,  contain  advertisements 
of  rewards  for  the  capture  of  runaway  slaves,  notices  of  slave  sales,  offers 
of  exchange  of  slaves  who  had  grown  old,  etc.  The  efforts  of  the  Manu- 
mission Society  already  referred  to  were  having  a  good  effect,  however, 
so  that  Governor  Jay,  while  himself  a  slave  owner,  had  a  bill  introduced 
in  the  Assembly  for  the  gradual  abolition  of  slave-holding.  It  may  be  said 
to  Jay's  credit  that  he  manumitted  his  slaves  at  an  age  when  he  con- 
sidered they  had  repaid  him  for  whatever  expense  they  had  caused  him. 
The  bill  for  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery  in  New  York  was  fought  with 
bitterness  by  many  of  the  slaveholders,  who  insisted  on  the  insertion  of  a 
riause  giving  them  compensation  for  the  release  of  their  slaves,  and  was  lost 
by  a  vote  of  32  to  30.  The  Manumission  Society  still  persevered,  however, 
and  gradually,  year  after  year,  reduced  the  number  of  slaves,  until  in  1825 
many  of  them  were  enjoying  the  privileges  of  freemen. 

Another  problem,  but  of  a  civic  nature,  engaged  the  attention  this  year 
of  the  people — the  condition  of  the  Collect,  or  Fresh  Water  Pond.  Surveys 
of  streets  had  been  made  about  it,  but  the  water  in  it  was  sixty  feet  deep. 
While  in  the  winter  a  favorite  resort  of  skaters,  pleasure  was,  as  it 
should  be,  a  secondary  consideration  to  the  New  Yorkers,  and  the  increasing 
population  of  the  city  urged  them  to  improve  it.  Committee  after  com- 
mittee reported  measures  to  this  effect,  and  negotiations  were  entered  into 
with  the  owners  of  the  swamps  to  reduce  the  width  of  the  Collect  and 
make  a  street  on  each  side  of  it,  but  it  was  not  until  1799  that  improve- 
ments were  begun,  nor  until  1805  that  the  condition  of  the  pond  was 
declared  dangerous  to  public   health. 

This  pond,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the  Tombs,  is  memorable  as 
having  been,  in  the  summer  of  1796,  the  water  on  which  the  first  trial 
of  a  steamboat  with  a  screw  propeller  took  place.  Its  inventor  was  John 
Fitch,  to  whose  genius  is  due  the  first  double  acting  condensing  engine, 
v/hich  transmitted  power  by  means  of  cranks.  The  boat  was  eighteen 
feet  long  and  six  feet  beam,  with  square  stern  and  round  bows.  The 
boiler  was  a  twelve-gallon  iron  pot.  The  trial  was  successful,  the  little 
boat  circling  the  pond  at  a  speed  which  it  was  said  would  develop 
six  miles  an  hour.  Fitch  died  in  1798,  after  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
prove  the  priority  of  his  inventions,  it  was  said,  though  history  gives  him 
credit  for  priority  in  most  of  them.  A  model  of  his  boat  may  be  seen 
at  the  rooms  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 


Religions — Protestant  Episcopal. 


Advent  of  Protestant  Episcopal  Church — Support  of  Church  of  England  Made 

Compulsory — The  Establishment  of  Trinity — Its  Baptism  of  Fire — 

Building  of  St.  George's,  St.  Paul's  and  St.  John's  Chapels. 

The  advent  of  Benjamin  Fletcher,  on  August  29,  1692,  as  Governor 
of  New  York,  and  also  of  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware,  by  royal  warrant 
of  William  and  Mary,  may  be  said  to  have  been  the  advent  also  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  colony.  Next  to  his  personal  ag- 
grandizement— and  this  was  always  the  first  consideration  in  the  minds 
of  England's  representatives  in  the  old  days — Governor  Fletcher's  chief 
aim  was  the  introduction  into  the  province  of  the  English  church  and  the 
English  language. 

''  Early  in  the  government  of  one  of  Fletcher's  predecessors,  Dongan,  the 
first  act  of  the  first  Assembly  elected  by  the  people,  in  accordance  with 
the  instructions  of  Dongan's  superior,  the  Duke  of  York,  was  to  frame  a 
Charter  of  Liberties,  one  of  whose  ordinations  was  "that  no  person  pro- 
fessing faith  in  God,  by  Jesus  Christ,  should  at  any  time  be  in  any  way 
disquieted  or  questioned  for  any  difference  of  opinion  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion." But  this  was  before  the  Duke  of  York  succeeded  to  the  throne 
under  the  title  of  James  II.  With  his  accession,  Dongan  received  new 
instructions  to  favor  the  introduction  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  into 
the  province — a  policy  which  he  was  reluctant  to  adopt,  though  a  Catholic 
himself.  The  citizens  of  the  province  were  mostly  Protestants,  many  of 
them  Waldenses  and  Huguenots,  who  had  fled  from  the  religious  persecu- 
tions in  Europe  to  seek  protection  under  the  tolerant  Dutch  government, 
and  Dongan,  despite  his  creed  and  the  new  instructions,  desired  to  preserve 
their  religious  freedom.  He  also  saw  the  increasing  influence  of  the 
French  in  Canada  over  the  Iroquois  in  matters  Catholic,  and  believed 
it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  preserve  the  province  to  the  English  govern- 
ment, to  exercise  a  judicious  policy  in  interpreting  the  orders  of  his  royal 
master.  His  apathy  displeased  James,  whose  settled  purpose  was  to 
encourage  the  growth  of  Catholicism  in  his  dominions,  rather  than  adhere 
to  the  ordination  of  the  Charter  of  Liberties,  and  Dongan  was  recalled.  He 
afterward  returned  as  a  private  citizen,  and  took  up  his  residence  on  an 
estate  on  Staten  Island,  for  which  he  had  previously  procured  a  patent,  and 
which  for  many  years  was  in  the  possession  of  his  family. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  with  the  accession  to  the  throne  of 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Orange,  stanch  Protestants,  an  overturning  of 
religious  affairs  should  occur  in  the  colony.     On  March  19,  1691,  Governor 

134 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  135 

Sloughter  arrived,  and  brought  with  him  the  royal  authority  to  tear  down 
old  laws  and  substitute  others  in  conformity  with  the  wishes  of  the  new 
sovereigns.  Sloughter  was  a  weakling  in  character,  but  his  orders  to 
crush  every  symptom  of  popular  liberty  in  the  colony  and  to  rule  it  with 
a  rod  of  iron  were  carried  out  to  the  letter  by  his  assistants.  The  greatest 
evidence  of  his  weakness  was  when,  overcome  with  wine,  the  enemies  of 
Leisler,  the  last  Dutch  Governor  of  New  York,  cajoled  Fletcher  into  signing 
Leisler's  death  warrant. 

Under  Sloughter  the  Charter  of  Liberties  was  declared  null  and  void, 
and  thus  was  the  way  made  for  Benjamin  Fletcher,  his  successor,  to  make 
the  Church  of  England  the  established  church  of  the  land.  This  was 
contrary  to  the  wishes  of  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  who  still  spoke 
the  Dutch  language  and  adhered  to  the  Dutch  Church,  which  they  regarded 
as  the  established  church  of  the  province.  When  the  first  Assembly  was 
convened  after  his  arrival  Fletcher  moved  to  have  the  Church  of  England 
made  the  established  church,  on  the  ground  that  the  Dutch  Church  was 
attached  to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  and  therefore  not  within  the  control 
of  the  crown.  The  Assembly  refused  to  listen  to  any  such  intimation. 
The  next  Asembly,  which  convened  in  the  latter  part  of  1693,  was  more 
compliant,  however,  and  passed  an  act  which  provided  for  the  building  of 
six  churches — one  in  this  city,  one  in  Richmond,  two  in  Westchester  and  two 
in  Suffolk — each  to  have  a  Protestant  minister,  with  a  salary  of  from  £40 
to  ilOO,  to  be  paid  by  a  tax  levied  on  the  inhabitants.  This  act  was  sent 
to  the  Governor  for  his  approval,  and,  being  less  than  he  desired,  was 
returned,  with  an  amendment  granting  him  the  power  of  inducting  every 
incumbent.  The  Assembly  refused  to  pass  the  amendment,  and  was  called 
before  the  Governor.  He  broke  into  violent  abuse,  and  told  the  members 
that  he  would  collate  or  suspend  any  minister  he  chose,  and  while  in  control 
of  the  government  would  see  that  heresy,  schism  or  rebellion  was  not 
preached  among  them.  He  then  dismissed  them  with  angry  threats.  The 
Assembly  would  not  be  forced  to  accept  the  amendment,  however,  and  the 
bill  subsequently  was  passed  without  it,  the  word  Protestant  in  it  being 
construed  to  mean  Episcopal.  Through  this  construction  all  the  inhabitants 
were  compelled  to  support  the  Church  of  England,  no  matter  what  their 
religious  opinions. 

In  1694  the  freeholders  of  Nev/  York  City  elected  two  wardens  and  ten 
vestrymen,  who  met  and  voted  to  raise  ilOO  for  the  support  of  a  minister. 
At  their  second  meeting  they  decided  that  "a  Dissenting  minister  be  called 
to  have  the  Care  of  Souls  for  this  City."  The  Governor  intervened,  de- 
claring that  this  office  was  already  provided  for,  and  that  the  chaplain  of 
the  garrison  was  by  right  minister  of  the  city  and  entitled  to  the  place. 
The  Council  refused  to  concur  with  the  Governor,  and  it  was  not  until 
late  in  1696  that  William  Vesey,  a  dissenting  clergyman,  received  the  call. 

In  1696,  under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  Assembly  mentioned 
above,  a  building  for  religious  worship  was  begun,  and  was  completed  and 
opened  on  February  6  of  the  following  year  by  the  Rev.  William  "Vesey.  In 
the  charter  granted  to  it  on  May  6,  1697,  by  act  of  the  Assembly,  and 
approved  and  ratified  by  the  Governor  and  Council,  "a  certain  church  and 
steeple   lately   built   in   the   city  of   New  York,    together   with   a   parcel   of 


136  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

ground  adjoining,"  was  to  be  known  as  Trinity  Church.  The  "parcel  of 
ground"  was  what  was  known  as  tlie  "King's  Farm,"  which  had  been  set 
apart  for  the  use  of  the  Governor,  and  "consisted  of  a  garden,  an  orchard,  a 
triangular  graveyard  in  one  corner,  and  pasturage  for  cows  and  horses." 
It  had  been  leased  for  twenty  years,  at  sixty  bushels  of  wheat  a  year,  by 
Governor  Andros,  and  at  the  time  when  a  church  site  was  being  sought  it 
was  recommended  to  Governor  Fletcher  that,  as  the  lease  was  about  to 
expire,  the  ground  should  be  turned  over  to  the  churchwardens  for  seven 
years  without  fine.  This  marked  the  real  beginning  of  the  Established 
Church  in  the  province  of  New  York.  Trinity's  charter  was  not  the  first 
issued  in  tke  colony.  The  Dutch  Church,  through  Dominie  Selyns,  was 
granted  a  charter  by  Governor  Fletcher  some  time  prior  to  that  of  Trinity. 

With  the  arrival  of  Lord  Bellomont,  in  1698,  as  the  successor  of 
Governor  Fletcher,  wholesale  condemnation  of  all  the  acts  of  his  prede- 
cessor occurred.  The  vacating  of  the  grant  of  land  to  Trinity  Church  by 
Fletcher  was  taken  up,  and  appeal  was  made  by  the  churchwardens  and 
vestry  to  the  Bishop  of  London  to  urge  the  Lords  of  Trade  to  prevent 
Bellomont  from  wresting  from  them  their  property  and  rights.  So  ag- 
grieved was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Vesey  that  he  left  the  names  of  the  Governor 
and  his  family  out  of  his  prayers.  The  Lords  of  Trade,  however,  laid 
the  act  for  breaking  the  grants  on  the  table,  and  peace  reigned  for  a  time. 

With  the  ascendancy  of  the  youngest  daughter  of  King  James  to  the 
throne  of  England  came  Lord  Cornbury.  as  Governor  of  the  colony.  He 
was  an  Episcopalian,  and  believed  that  the  establishment  of  that  church 
in  the  colony  would  be  a  safeguard  against  "popery."  Under  the  Governor- 
ship of  Cornbury  the  Queen  gave  her  attention  to  the  condition  of  Trinity 
Church.  The  "King's  Farm,"  before  mentioned,  was  augmented  in  1705  by 
the  Anetje  Jans  estate,  and  formally  presented  by  deed  patent  to  the  church. 
This  estate  had  been  granted  to  Roelof  Jansen  by  Van  Twiller  in  1636,  and 
comprised  62  acres  of  ground,  beginning  a  little  south  of  the  present  Warren 
street  and  extending  along  Broadway  as  far  as  Duane  street,  thence  north- 
westerly a  mile  and  a  half  to  Christopher  street,  forming  a  sort  of  unequal 
triangle,  with  its  base  upon  the  North  River.  Jansen  died  a  few  years 
after  the  grant,  leaving  four  children,  and  his  widow,  Anetje  Jans,  became 
the  wife  of  Dominie  Bogardus.  After  the  dominie's  death  the  grant  was 
confirmed  by  Stuyvesant  to  the  widow.  When  the  province  was  captured 
by  the  English  government  the  grant  was  again  confirmed  to  her  heirs, 
who  sold  it  in  1671  to  Colonel  Lovelace,  one  of  the  heirs,  however,  failing 
to  join  in  the  conveyance.  Every  now  and  then  the  validity  of  the  title 
to  this  estate  is  attacked,  but  the  estate  continues  to  increase  in  value, 
though  at  one  time  it  was  of  comparatively  little  worth. 

The  ancient  Trinity  was  enlarged  in  1737,  but  during  the  fire  on 
September  2,  1776,  which  destroyed  the  southwest  part  of  the  city,  it  was 
entirely  burned,  and  lay  in  ruins  during  the  war  and  until  1788,  when 
it  was  rebuilt.  It  was  consecrated  in  1791  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Provost.  To  this  church  two  chapels  were  attached — St.  George's,  in 
Beekman  street,  built  in  1759,  and  St.  Paul's,  in  Broadway,  erected  in 
1766.  A  third  was  added  in  1807 — St.  John's,  in  Varick  street,  opposite 
the  centre  of  Hudson  Square,  which  at  the  time  was  the  mos^   admired. 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  137 

fashionable  and  retired  part  of  the  city.  It  was  so  large  and  situated 
so  far  uptown  that  the  people  wondered  when  the  time  would  come  that  a 
congregation  would  be  found  to  fill  its  pews.  In  Ann  street  was  Christ 
Church,  a  stone  edifice,  built  in  1794;  St.  Mark's,  in  Stuyvesant  street, 
built  in  1795;  Zion  Church,  in  Mott  street,  built  in  1801,  and  the  Eglise  du 
Saint  Esprit,  in  Pine  street,  near  Nassau,  erected  by  the  French  Protestants 
in  1704.  The  present  Trinity  was  consecrated  in  1846.  St.  George's  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  on  the  night  of  January  5,  1814,  but  with  the  prompt  aid  of 
Trinity  Church  it  was  again  rebuilt,  and  consecrated  in  November,  1815. 
Another  of  the  Episcopal  churches  was  St.  Thomas's,  at  the  corner  of 
Houston  street  and  Broadway.  A  few  years  prior  to  the  time  it  was 
built,  1826,  the  city  had  extended  northward  and  a  great  number  of  the 
genteel  families  had  removed  to  the  vicinity,  "so  that  it  became 
necessary  to  erect  a  church  that  would  correspond  with  the  taste  and 
wealth  of  the  people."  It  was  of  stone,  in  pure  Gothic  style,  and  dis- 
tinguishing features  of  the  structure  were  two  large  angular,  projecting 
towers  at  the  northeast  and  southeast  corners,  which  rose  in  diminished 
proportions  to  a  height  of  eighty  feet  and  ended  in  pointed  turrets  of  a 
dwarf  size. 

Among  the  interesting  things  that  occurred  in  the  old  city 
in  1796  were  the  purchase  of  a  lot  by  the  corporation  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  Broad  and  Wall  streets  for  £800,  which  to-day  is 
worth  £3  00  a  square  foot,  and  of  Bedlow's  Island  by  the  State  for  the 
nominal  sum  of  eight  shillings,  for  use  as  a  lazaretto.  The  school  money 
received  from  the  State  this  year  was  £944,  £110  of  which  sum  went  to 
the  Episcopal  Free  School,  £200  to  the  Presbyterian,  £250  to  the  Dutch, 
£54  to  the  German-Lutheran,  £100  to  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  and  £230 
to  the  African  churches.  Fifty-eight  lots  of  common  land  above  Canal  street 
were  sold  for  £  17,600  and  "four  bushels  of  wheat  each  forever."  On  De- 
cember 5  of  this  year  a  bill  for  £35  was  rendered  by  John  Morton,  pro- 
prietor of  "The  Daily  Advertiser,"  for  printing  done  for  the  city  corporation 
for  twelve  months.  The  incendiary  was  abroad  during  the  month  mentioned, 
as  the  old  record  tells  of  a  reward  of  $500  for  his  apprehension,  as  repeated 
attempts  had  been  made  to  fire  the  city. 

In  1797  Presbyterian  churches  were  built  in  Rutgers  street  and  in 
Pearl  street.  South  street  was  being  filled  in  rapidly,  and  in  the  early 
part  of  the  year  the  laying  out  of  Hudson  street  was  begun.  On  October 
17  John  Adams,  who  had  been  elected  President  of  the  United  States  the 
preceding  year,  .was  welcomed  by  the  corporation,  and  another  man  of 
distinction,  fresh  from  the  rigors  of  a  St.  Petersburg  prison,  arrived  in 
the  autumn  of  1797,  and  was  feted  by  the  citizens  of  New  York — the  accom- 
plished Pole,  Kosciuszko.  The  Count  Niemcewicz,  who  had  fought  with 
him  and  shared  his  imprisonment  in  Russia,  accompanied  him. 

Here  is  a  record  of  October  30,  1797:  "A  menagerie  of  wild  beasts  on 
the  corner  of  Pearl  and  State  streets."  On  December  11  Goerck  and 
Mangin  were  appointed  to  make  a  map  of  the  city,  and  at  the  same  meeting 
of  the  Council  at  which  this  action  was  taken  "cartmen  were  arranged 
in  classes,  with  a  foreman."  The  law  governing  cartmen,  porters,  carts 
and  hand  barrows  was  strict  in  those  days.     Stations  were  allotted  to  cart- 


138 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 


men  in  nearly  every  street  in  tlie  city,  but  principally  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  wharves,  piers  and  slips.  The  porters'  stations  were  in  Coffee  House 
Slip,  Pearl  street  and  Maiden  Lane.  Each  cart  was  numbered  and  registered 
as  to-day,  and  paid  for  the  first  license  $2,  and  for  a  renewal  12i/4  cents. 
To  receive  a  license  the  applicant  had  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  city  for  six  months  preceding  his  application,  at  least  twenty- 
one  years  old  and  the  owner  of  a  good  horse  and  cart.  If  found  driving 
without  a  license  a  penalty  of  $15  was  levied  on  him. 


SCENE  IN  BILLOPP  HOUSE,   STATEN  ISLAND. 

(Committee  from  Congress,  headed  by  Benjamin  Franklin,   rejecting  Lord 

Howe's    overtures    for    peace    in    1776.) 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


Religions — Lutheran. 


The  First  Lutheran  Church — Justus  Falckner  First  Lutheran  Pastor  to  Be 
Ordained  in  America — Account  of  His  Ordination — Four  Congre- 
gations and  One  Hundred  Communicants  His  Initial  Charge. 

The  history  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  New  York  in  the  early  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century  is  extremely  naeagre.  Whatever  records  were 
kept  of  the  struggle  of  the  sect  to  obtain  a  foothold  in  the  colony  are  in 
the  keeping  of  the  authorities  in  Amsterdam,  Holland.  It  is  known,  how- 
ever, that  Dutch  Lutherans  came  to  America  with  the  first  settlers  on 
Manhattan  Island  in  1623,  and  that  the  first  German  Lutheran  arrived 
in  1644.  The  followers  of  Luther  had  the  same  trouble  with  Governor 
Stuyvesant  as  other  religious  denominations  not  of  his  belief,  for  in  1660 
he  refused  them  permission  to  build  a  church  in  New  Amsterdam,  and 
was  supported  by  the  West  India  Company  on  the  ground  that  so  dangerous 
a  precedent  would  soon  be  followed  by  the  other  dissenting  sects,  and  thus 
would  the  established  religion  of  the  province  be  destroyed.  This  refusal 
of  Stuyvesant  is  considered  by  historians  to  be  the  first  manifestation  of 
religious  bigotry  in  the  provinces. 

"  When  the  English  had  succeeded  in  expelling  the  Dutch  from  their 
American  possessions,  in  1664,  and  the  affairs  of  the  province  were  in 
the  hands  of  Colonel  Nicolls,  as  Deputy-Governor,  the  Lutherans  were  per- 
mitted to  erect  a  church  and  to  send  to  Europe  for  a  preacher  of  their  own 
denomination.  In  February,  1669,  Jacob  Fabricius  arrived,  and  was  the 
first  to  preach  to  them  in  their  own  language,  in  what  was  known  as  the 
first  Lutheran  Church,  which  stood  outside  the  fort,  about  where  Bowling 
Green  now  is.  When  the  town  came  once  more  into  the  possession  of 
the  Dutch,  in  1670,  this  building  was  razed  for  military  purposes,  and  a 
lot  was  given  to  the  congregation  at  what  is  now  the  southwest  corner 
of  Broadway  and  Rector  street. 

The  religious  zeal  of  the  Lutherans  in  the  seventeenth  century  was 
confined  more  to  Pennsylvania  than  to  New  York,  as  in  1694  a  band  of 
German  Pietists  settled  on  the  Wissahickon,  a  short  distance  from  Ger- 
mantown,  and  proved  a  powerful  factor  in  upholding  the  orthodox  Lutheran 
faith  in  "the  province  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1701  Andreas  Rudman  arrived 
in  New  York  from  Pennsylvania  and  began  to  gather  up  and  organize 
the  German,  Dutch  and  Swedish  Lutherans,  who  were  scattered  over  a  large 
territory,  including  parts  of  Long  Island  and  East  Jersey.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  year  Dominie  Rudman  and  his  family  were  stricken  with 
yellow  fever,  which  broke  out  with  fury  in  the  fort  and  in  the  town.     The 

139 


140  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

dominie's  second  son  died  from  the  scourge,  and  an  urgent  appeal  was 
sent  to  Pennsylvania  in  August  for  assistance.  Dominies  Biorck  and  Sandel 
were  sent  to  aid  him,  but  because  of  the  imperfect  means  of  communication 
at  the  time  it  was  the  middle  of  September  before  they  reached  New 
York.  The  dominie  was  recovering  from  his  illness,  but  concluded  that 
on  account  of  the  rigor  of  the  climate  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to 
continue  in  charge  another  winter.  Not  wishing  to  leave  the  field 
uncovered,  he  wrote  to  Justus  Falckner,  one  of  the  Lutheran  community 
in  Pennsylvania,  that  he  had  decided  to  leave  the  province,  and  that  he 
considered  him  more  suitable  than  any  one  else  to  safely  "commit  his  sheep 
to."  He  told  him  he  would  try  to  persuade  the  Ministerium  to  initiate  him 
into  the  ministry.  Falckner  had  not  been  ordained  at  the  time,  but  was 
a  devout  member  of  the  little  band  of  German  pietists  on  the  Wissahickon. 
He  consented  to  receive  the  Swedish  ordination  and  to  take  charge  of 
Rudman's  flock.  On  October  27,  1703,  the  church  council  of  New  York 
wrote  him  to  come  and  preach  a  trial  sermon,  but  as  the  congregation  were 
not  insistent  in  the  matter  of  a  trial  sermon,  a  formal  call  was  sent  to 
him  to  serve  them  as  pastor.  The  Ministerium  evidently  granted  the  appeal 
of  Dominie  Rudman,  as  on  November  24,  1703,  Falckner  was  ordained  in 
the  old  Swedish  Lutheran  Church,  Gloria  Dei,  at  Wicacoa,  in  Philadelphia, 
German,  Swede  and  Hollander  combining  to  furnish  a  regularly  ordained 
pastor  as  missionary  among  the  scattered  Lutherans  in  the  province  of 
New  York  and  East  Jersey,  and  assisting  in  the  first  regular  ordination 
of  an  orthodox  clergyman  in  the  Western  world. 

The  ceremony,  we  are  told  by  his  biographer,  Julius  Friederich  Sachse, 
Litt.  D.,  to  whom  the  writer  is  indebted  for  most  of  the  information  regard- 
ing the  development  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  New  York,  "was  enacted 
upon  that  bleak  November  day  within  the  bare  walls  of  the  Swedish 
church  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  The  sacred  structure,  as  yet  bare 
and  unfinished,  lacked  both  tower  and  side  projections.  Earthen  floors 
and  hard  benches  in. the  interior  well  matched  the  unadorned  altar. 

"Upon  this  occasion  no  pealing  organ,  with  a  multitude  of  stops 
and  pedals,  vestured  choir  or  elaborate  music  made  melody  for  the  service. 
No  long  procession  of  robed  clergy,  with  mitred  bishop  surrounded  by 
acolytes  and  led  by  the  cross  bearer,  were  present  to  add  dignity  to  the 
scene  and  impress  the  beholder  with  awe.  The  Theosophical  Brotherhood, 
partly  clad  in  the  habit  of  the  German  University  student,  others  in  the 
rough  pilgrim  garb  of  unbleached  homespun,  occupied  the  front  benches, 
while  the  rear  of  the  church  was  filled  with  a  number  of  Swedes  and  a 
sprinkling  of  English  churchmen  and  Dissenters.  It  is  said  that  even  a  few 
Quakers  and  Indians  were  attracted  to  the  church,  and  enhanced  the 
picturesqueness  of  the  scene.  The  service  was  opened  with  a  Voluntary  on 
the  little  organ  (the  earliest  reference  to  a  church  organ  in  any  Protestant 
church  in  America)  in  the  gallery  by  Jonas,  the  organist,  supplemented 
with  instrumental  music  by  the  Mystics  on  the  viol,  hautboy,  trumpet  and 
kettledrum.    After  this  they  intoned  the  'Veni  Creator  Spiritus.'  " 

The  ceremony  of  ordination  was  very  impressive,  says  the  biographer 
the  Apostolic  Creed  being  slowly  read,  each  word  being  carefully 
repeated     by     the  candidate     before     the     next     following     one     was  ut- 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  141 

tered  by  the  secretary,  the  Rev.  Andreas  Sandel.  After  the  questions 
and  answers  of  the  ordination  ceremony  had  been  put  and  received,  and  the 
obligation  was  administered  upon  the  Holy  Evangels,  the  candidate  kneeled, 
while  the  Brotherhood  intoned  the  "Veni  Sancto  Spiritu"  and  two  clergy- 
men invested  him  with  the  chasuble  and  stole.  The  Theosophists  then 
intoned  the  "Non  Nobis  Domine,"  during  which  the  little  procession  re- 
formed, and,  as  the  last  verse  was  sung,  slowly  left  the  church,  and  the  first 
regular  ordination  of  a  Protestant  clergyman  in  America  was  at  an  end. 

"After  the  ordination  services  were  over  a  diploma,  such  as  was  used 
in  the  Swedish  Lutheran  Church  at  that  day,  was  filled  out  in  due  form 
and  laid  upon  the  altar,  before  which  the  ordination  had  taken  place, 
and  there  was  signed  and  sealed  by  the  three  officiating  clergymen,  after 
which  it  was  handed  to  the  newly  ordained  presbyter."  Thus  was  the  new 
dominie  sent  out  to  minister  in  the  adjoining  provinces,  and  labor,  not  alone 
among  those  of  his  own  kith  and  kin,  but  among  people  who  used  a 
European  tongue  foreign  to  his  own. 

Dominie  Falckner  arrived  in  New  York  City  eight  days  after  his 
ordination,  and,  after  preaching  on  the  third  and  fourth  Sundays  in 
Advent,  was  accepted  as  their  regular  pastor  by  the  oldest  Lutheran  con- 
gregation in  America.  His  first  official  act  was  to  send  a  report  and  copy 
of  his  ordination  to  the  Lutheran  Consistory  at  Amsterdam,  under  whose 
patronage  the  church  in  New  York  was  established,  and  to  whom  they 
looked  for  assistance  and  encouragement. 

The  Lutheran  church  as  Dominie  Falckner  found  it  "was  more  like 
unto  a  cattle  shed  than  a  house  of  God,"  as  he  stated  in  a  letter  to  the  Am- 
sterdam Consistory.  "Only  two  windows  are  in  the  building,  one  is  back  of 
the  pulpit  and  the  other  directly  opposite.  As  the  church  is  not  paved, 
but  merely  floored  with  loose  boards,  some  long,  others  short,  one  cannot 
pass  through  it  without  stumbling."  In  another  letter  sent  to  Amsterdam 
in  1705  he  says:  "It  is  well  known  to  you  that  since  the  death  of  the 
sainted  Mr.  Bernhardus  Arentius  we  have  been  many  years  without  a 
pastor.  Hence  it  is  that  our  congregation  has  become  dispersed,  the  young 
people  and  many  of  the  older  ones  have  gone  over  to  the  so-called  Reformed 
Sect.  .  .  .  Our  congregation  here  is  very  small,  because  its  members 
are  dispersed  far  and  near  throughout  the  country;  the  majority  of  them 
are  poor,  and  many,  especially  the  young  people,  ignorant  on  account  of  the 
lack  of  Bibles,  Catechisms,  Psalm  and  Hymn  Books,  and  it  would  be  of 
great  service  here  to  have  a  pamphlet  in  which  by  means  of  short  questions 
and  answers  the  difference  between  the  Lutheran  and  the  so-called  Re- 
formed opinions  were  exposed,  every  point  thus  concluding,  'Therefore  the 
Lutheran  opinion  is  the  better  one.'  " 

This  divine's  activity  extended  along  the  whole  valley  of  the  Hudson 
from  New  York  to  Albany,  and  the  four  small  Lutheran  congregations 
which  he  served  consisted  of  one  hundred  constant  communicants.  To  his 
untiring  zeal  is  due  the  keeping  together  of  the  Lutheran  sect  In  the 
colony. 

In  1710  three  thousand  Palatines,  driven  from  their  homes  by  the 
inhuman  command  of  Louis  XIV,  were  financially  assisted  by  the  English 
government  in  seeking  homes  in  the  New  World.     Many  of  them  remained 


142  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

in  New  York,  where,  with  the  assistance  of  the  small  communion  then 
existing,  they  built  a  Lutheran  church  on  the  site  given  them  when  the 
first  church  was  razed.  It  was  called  the  Trinity  Lutheran  Church.  This 
church  served  the  congregation  until  1729,  when  a  new  building  was 
erected.  In  1776  the  Lutheran  church  in  Broadway  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  the  only  remaining  place  of  worship  of  the  sect  was  the  German 
Lutheran  Church  in  Frankfort  street,  corner  of  William,  which  had  been 
built  in  1767.  On  July  6,  1784,  the  Trinity  Lutheran  congregation,  hav- 
ing substituted  the  German  for  the  Dutch  tongue,  united  with  the  German 
Lutheran  Church  known  as  the  Swamp  congregation,  and  assumed  the  name 
"The  Corporation  of  the  United  German  Lutheran  Churches  of  New  York," 
and  the  services  were  transferred  to  it.  About  1826  the  united  congre- 
gation moved  to  Walker  street,  near  Broadway.  By  special  act  of  the 
legislature,  passed  on  March  29,  1866,  the  name  was  changed  to  "The 
German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  St.  Matthew,"  and  a  spacious 
church  was  secured  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Broome  and  Elizabeth  streets, 
where  the  congregation  now  worship. 

The  church  register  of  this  congregation,  from  the  time  of  Justus 
Falckner,  is  interesting  as  showing  the  work  done  by  him  as  a  missionary 
in  the  province.  We  find  that  on  February  27,  1704,  baptism  was  ad- 
ministered in  a  barn  at  Hackensack,  with  the  following:  "O  Lord!  Lord, 
let  this  child,  together  with  the  three  above  written  Hackensack  Children, 
be  and  remain  engrossed  upon  the  book  of  life."  Another  record  is  of 
the  baptism  of  a  negro  slave  at  Albany:  "Anno  1712,  January  27,  baptized 
at  Loonenburg,  in  Albany,  Peter  Christian,  a  Negro  and  slave  of  Jan  Van 
Loons,  of  Loonenburg,  about  thirty  years  of  age.  He  has  promised  among 
other  things  that  he  will  hereafter,  as  well  as  he  has  done  before,  faith- 
rully  serve  his  master  and  mistress  as  servant.  Grant,  O  God,  that  this 
black  and  hard  Negro-heart  be  and  remain  a  Christian  heart,  and  he 
may  be  numbered  among  those  who  are  clothed  with  white  raiment  before 
the  throne  of  the  Lamb,  through  the  merits  of  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  bore 
the  sins  of  the  world.     Amen." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  two  Lutheran  churches 
existed  in  New  York,  the  one  in  Frankfort  street  and  the  German  Reformed 
Church,  in  Nassau  street,  near  John. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 


Religions — Presbyterian. 


History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York — "The  Apostle  of  Presby- 

terianism  in  America,"  Rev.  Francis  Doughty — Arrest  of 

Ministers    by    Order   of   Lord    Cornbury. 

"The  arm  of  the  civil  government  was  constantly  employed  in  support 
of  the  denunciations  of  the  Church,  and,  without  its  forms,  the  Inquisition 
existed  in  substance,  with  a  full  share  of  its  terrors  and  its  violence."  So 
wrote  Justice  Story  of  the  religious  intolerance  in  the  New  England  settle- 
ments in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  to  this  religious  intol- 
erance is  due  the  advent  of  Presbyterianism  in  New  York  City  in  1642,  when 
the  Rev.  Francis  Doughty,  dragged  from  an  assembly  at  Cohasset  for  saying 
that  "Abraham's  children  should  have  been  baptized,"  was  obliged  to  flee, 
and  found  a  refuge  on  Manhattan  Island.  Doughty  was,  therefore,  the  first 
Presbyterian  minister  of  New  York  City,  and,  according  to  Dr.  Charles  A. 
Briggs,  "the  Apostle  of  Presbyterianism  in  America."  To  be  accurate, 
Doughty's  first  place  of  refuge  was  Maspeth,  Long  Island,  where  he  purposed 
establishing  a  Presbyterian  colony,  but  Indian  wars  broke  out  and  the 
colonists  were  forced  to  flee  for  safety  to  Manhattan.  Here  he  ministered 
for  five  years  as  the  pastor  of  a  congregation  which  later  became  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church. 

The  Rev.  Francis  Doughty  had  his  own  troubles  with  Governor  Kieft, 
for  the  record  says  that  "a  dispute  having  arisen  between  the  minister  and 
his  associates  regarding  the  control  of  the  Maspeth  colony,  the  director  and 
Council  decided  the  case  against  the  minister  and  took  the  control  of  the 
colony  out  of  his  hands,  and  upon  his  threatening  to  appeal  to  the  court 
of  Holland  fined  him  tv/enty-five  guilders  and  imprisoned  him  twenty-four 
hours  for  contumacy."  This  conflict  with  the  Dutch  Governor  made  it  nec- 
essary for  him  to  leave  the  city.  He  went  to  Maryland,  where  he  labored 
until  his  death. 

The  second  Presbyterian  minister  to  preach  in  the  colony  was  the  Rev. 
Richard  Denton,  an  Englishman,  who  arrived  in  1648  from  the  Presbyterian 
settlement  at  Stamford,  Conn.  He  divided  his  time  between  Hempstead, 
Long  Island,  and  New  Amsterdam,  and  seemed  to  have  been  persona  grata 
with  the  Dutch  ministers,  as  they  permitted  him  to  occupy  the  building  in 
which  they  worshipped — but  twice  only.  He  returned  to  England  in  1658. 
Religious  tolerance  existed  in  the  colony  at  this  time,  and  tended  to  pro- 
duce greater  breadth  of  view  and  liberality  of  sentiment  than  was  to  be 
found  in  the  New  England  colonies. 

At  the  time  of  the  cession  of  the  province  to  the  English  in  1664  there 

143 


1^4  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

were  few  Presbyterians  in  the  city,  and  these  few  were  without  a  definite 
place  of  worship,  but  they  courageously  kept  together,  and  awaited  the 
bursting  of  the  religious  intolerance  bubble  brought  into  the  colony  by  the 
English.  And  it  did  burst,  but  the  effect  was  of  no  benefit  to  them,  for  suc- 
ceeding Governors,  at  the  behest  of  their  royal  masters,  played  battledore 
and  shuttlecock  with  the  religious  beliefs  of  their  subjects.  Their  action, 
however,  spurred  the  different  sects  to  obtain  supremacy.  The 
Presbyterians  were  in  the  ascendancy  in  Jamaica  and  obeying  to  the  letter 
the  laws  of  the  land.  In  New  York,  as  was  said,  they  were  few  in  number, 
and  assembled  in  private  houses  on  the  Sabbath  to  conduct  worship.  With 
the  coming  of  Lord  Cornbury  as  ruler  of  the  colony  new  instructions  regard- 
ing religious  worship  were  issued,  and  an  event  occurred  in  Jamaica  which 
showed  to  what  straits  the  Presbyterians  were  put  in  order  to  hold  what 
belonged  to  them. 

Soon  after  the  Governor's  arrival  yellow  fever  was  sweeping  over  the 
city.  He  hastened  to  remove  his  family  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  took  up 
quarters  for  the  summer  at  Jamaica.  There  were  few  good  houses  in  that 
village,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hubbard,  the  Presbyterian  minister,  offered  his 
new  parsonage  to  the  Governor,  while  he  sought  less  convenient  accommo- 
dations. The  hospitality  was  accepted,  and  requited  in  a  peculiar  manner. 
A  handful  of  Episcopalians  in  the  village  were  envious  of  the  prosperity  of 
the  Presbyterians,  and,  knowing  that  Cornbury  had  for  his  aim  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  province,  were  determined  to  wrest 
from  the  successful  sect  their  sacred  edifice  and  parsonage,  which  they  con- 
sidered, according  to  the  Ministry  Act  passed  in  1693,  they  held  simply  by 
virtue  of  priority  of  possession.  Cornbury  countenanced  the  scheme  of  the 
Episcopalians,  and  between  the  morning  and  the  evening  services  on  a 
Sunday  afternoon  a  few  of  them  obtained  the  key  of  the  church  and  took 
possession  of  the  sanctuary.  The  following  day  the  outraged  Presbyterians 
gathered  around  the  building  and  forcibly  entered  it.  A  scene  of  violence 
ensued,  several  persons  were  wounded,  and,  assisted  by  Cornbury's  own  ser- 
vants, the  Episcopalians  became  the  victors,  if  victory  there  was  in  such  a 
disgraceful  act.  Tedious  litigation  followed,  many  of  the  Presbyterians  were 
prosecuted  for  damages  to  the  building,  and  several  were  heavily  fined  and 
imprisoned.  Cornbury  gave  the  parsonage  to  the  Episcopacy  before  he  re- 
turned to  the  city  at  the  end  of  the  summer,  and  the  glebe  he  turned  over 
to  the  sheriff,  who  laid  it  out  in  building  lots  and  farmed  it  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Church.  In  1728  the  colonial  courts,  however,  decided  that  the 
church  edifice  belonged  to  the  Presbyterians,  and  it  was  restored  to  them. 

Another  act  of  the  Governor's  is  of  interest.  The  Rev.  Francis  Ma- 
kemie,  an  Irishman,  who  laid  the  fo\indations  of  organized  Presbyterianism 
in  this  country,  journeyed  from  the  Carolinas  to  New  York  in  1706,  accom- 
panied by  the  Rev.  John  Hampton,  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  few  of  his 
sect  who  were  without  a  minister.  He  sent  a  message  to  Cornbury,  asking' 
for  an  interview,  and  received  a  courteous  invitation  the  meet  the  Governor. 
The  two  ministers  were  well  received  by  the  Governor,  especially  as  they 
made  no  mention  of  their  intention  to  preach.  Since  they  had  the  Queen's 
authority  to  preach  anywhere  in  her  dominions,  they  thought  it  unnecessary 
to  trouble  the  Governor  in  the  matter.    Invitations  were  extended  to  them 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  14S 

to  occupy  both  Dutch  and  French  pulpits,  but  they  had  made  other  arrange- 
ments, and  Makemie  preached  at  a  private  house,  while  Hampton  occupied 
the  sacred  desk  of  a  little  Newtown  (Long  Island)  church.  The  Governor 
ordered  their  arrest  the  following  day,  and  had  them  brought  before  him. 
He  questioned  them  gruffly,  and  told  them  the  law  would  not  permit  the 
countenancing  of  strolling  preachers.  They  must  first  qualify  themselves 
by  satisfying  him  that  they  were  fit  to  occupy  the  pulpit  before  they  could 
be  permitted  to  preach.  Makemie  referred  him  to  the  work  he  had  performed 
in  the  South,  and  said  he  had  qualified  himself  there.  Ignorance  of  the  law 
by  the  ministers  was  construed  by  the  Governor  as  contumacy  and  inten- 
tional fraud,  and  they  were  held  for  trial.  It  was  nearly  seven  weeks 
before  it  took  place,  and  during  the  time  the  community  was  aroused  to  a 
deep  sense  of  the  injustice  being  perpetrated.  The  trial  was  attended  with 
considerable  excitement,  but  the  ministers  were  acquitted  by  the  jury, 
though  they  were  obliged  to  pay  all  the  expense  of  the  prosecution,  amount- 
ing to  more  than  £83. 

Fourteen  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  had  passed  before  the  growth 
of  Presbyterianism  was  noticeable  in  the  colony.  With  the  close  of  Lord 
Cornbury's  administration  at  that  time  and  the  increase  of  dissensions  in 
the  Episcopal  Church,  the  Presbyterians,  relieved  of  civic  disfavor  and  of 
the  aggression  of  the  Episcopacy,  determined  to  establish  a  church.  The 
Rev.  James  Anderson  was  called  from  Newcastle,  Del.,  and  was  favorably 
received.  In  1716  the  Church  was  organized.  In  1718,  the  sect  having 
gained  sufficient  strength,  a  lot  was  purchased  in  Wall  street,  near  the  City 
Hall,  from  the  heirs  of  Gabriel  Thompson,  who  had  originally  purchased  it 
from  the  "De  Peyster  Gardens,"  and  the  erection  of  a  church  was  begun. 
The  lot  was  124  by  88  feet,  and  the  purchase  price  was  f350.  During  the 
building  of  the  church  the  congregation,  by  special  act  of  the  corporation, 
were  allowed  to  hold  their  services  in  the  City  Hall. 

Owing  to  the  opposition  of  Trinity,  which  still  claimed  to  be  the 
Church  of  New  York,  the  Presbyterians  were  unable  to  secure  a  charter  for 
the  church,  so  the  pastor  and  a  few  members  held  the  property  in  fee 
simple  until  1730,  when  it  was  transferred  to  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and 
held  by  it  until  1766.  The  First  Church  was  enlarged  in  1748,  and  entirely 
rebuilt  in  1810  of  brownstone.  In  the  conflagration  of  1835  it  was  de- 
stroyed, but  was  rebuilt  soon  after,  and  occupied  for  eight  or  ten  years, 
when,  tempted  by  the  increasing  value  of  the  ground,  the  congregation 
disposed  of  it  for  secular  purposes  and  removed  to  their  new  edifice  in 
Fifth  avenue,  between  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  streets.  The  old  church  was 
taken  down,  stone  by  stone,  and  put  up  again  in  Jersey  City,  where  it  was 
a  conspicuous  object  for  many  years. 

The  Second,  or  Brick,  Presbyterian  Church,  in  Beekman  street,  was 
built  in  1767  on  the  angular  lot  known  as  "The  Vineyard,"  which  had 
been  granted  by  the  corporation  at  a  rental  of  £40  a  year  to  John  Rogers 
and  Joseph  Treat,  ministers,  and  John  Morin  Scott,  Peter  R.  Livingston  and 
others,  trustees,  for  an  indefinite  period.  More  fortunate  than  its  neigh- 
bor, the  Brick  Church  escaped  the  great  conflagration,  and  remained  a 
landmark  of  olden  times  until  the  widening  of  Beekman  street  demanded 
its  demolition,  when  the  congregation  began  the  erection  of  a  new  edifice 


146 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 


on  the  corner  of  Fifth  avenue  and  Thirty-seventh  street.  The  iron  railing 
which  had  surrounded  the  church  for  so  many  years  was  taken  down  and 
removed  to  South  Brooklyn,  where  it  was  set  up  about  the  residence  of  the 
late  J.  S.  T.  Stranahan.  These  were  Associated  Churches,  and  were  under 
the  care  of  the  Rev.  Drs.  Rogers,  McKnight  and  Miller.  The  Third,  or 
Scotch,  Presbyterian  church  stood  in  Cedar  street,  between  Broadway  and 
Nassau  street,  and  was  founded  in  1758.  "The  church  is  lighted  with  gas 
during  evening  service,"  says  a  record  of  1829.  It  was  under  the  charge 
of  Dr.  Mason.  The  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church,  a  wooden  building,  stood 
in  Rutgers  street,  and  was  founded  in  1797.  It  was  in  charge  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Milledollar.  The  Fifth,  in  Pearl  street,  near  Broadway,  was  also 
founded  in  1797.  The  Sixth  Reformed  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church  stood  in 
Chambers  street.  The  home  of  the  Seventh,  in  18  28,  was  in  a  room  in  Hud- 
son street,  corner  of  Christopher.  The  Eighth,  built  of  stone  in  1867,  stood 
in  Cedar  street,  between  Nassau  and  William.  Dr.  Romeyn  was  the  pastor. 
It  was  the  ancestor  of  Dr.  Pott's  church  in  University  Place  and  of  Dr.  Alex- 
ander's, at  the  corner  of  Nineteenth  street  and  Fifth  avenue.  The  Ninth  was 
in  Orange  street,  now  Baxter  street,  and  was  built,  in  1808,  of  wood.  The 
Tenth,  in  Spring  street,  was  founded  in  1810,  and  was  also  built  of  wood. 
The  Eleventh,  in  Murray  street,  was  built  of  stone  in  1812,  "with  a  tower 
rising  to  the  height  of  two  hundred  feet,  and  pews  receding  amphitheatri- 
cally  from  the  pulpit." 

At  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  were 
twenty-one  Presbyterian  churches  in  New  York  City,  as  against  eighteen 
Episcopal,  thirteen  Dutch  Reformed,  thirteen  Baptist,  fourteen  Methodist, 
four  Catholic,  three  Unitarian,  three  Lutheran,  one  Moravian,  two  Uni- 
versalist  and  three  Friends'  Meeting  Houses. 


BILLOPP    HOUSE,    STATEN    ISLAND. 
^Oldest  house  in  City  of  New  York.     Built   in   168S.) 


CHAPTER    XXX. 


Religions — Baptist,  Methodist,  Jewish  and  Quaker. 


The  Baptist  Church — Meetings  in  Private  Dwellings — Sacrament  Admin- 
istered in  Rigging  Loft — The  Methodist  Church — The 
Moravians — The  Quakers — The  Jews. 

The  history  of  the  organization  and  growth  of  the  Baptist  Church  in 
the  old  city  is  of  more  than  ordinary  interest.  Prior  to  1750  the  members 
of  this  sect  were  few  in  number,  and  these  few  maintained  prayer  meet- 
ings for  several  years  in  private  dwellings.  In  1755  they  held  services  in  a 
rigging  loft  in -William  sti'eet,  and  a  sermon  was  occasionally  delivered  to 
them  by  a  minister  from  Scotch  Plains,  N.  J.,  of  the  church  at  which  place 
they  were  considered  a  branch.  Once  in  three  months  Elder  Miller,  the 
pastor  of  the  Scotch  Plains  church,  administered  the  sacrament  to  them  in 
the  William  street  rigging  loft. 

In  1760  a  small  church  was  founded  by  the  sect  in  Gold  street,  between 
Fulton  and  John,  and  in  176  2  the  First  Baptist  Church  was  opened, 
with  twenty-seven  members,  the  Rev.  John  Gano,  a  scholar  of  rare  culture, 
becoming  the  first  pastor.  The  infant  church  flourished  under  his  ministry 
for  sixteen  years  prior  to  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  the  membership  in- 
creasing from  a  mere  handful  to  over  two  hundred  communicants.  With  the 
breaking  out  of  hostilities,  the  Rev.  John  Gano  became  a  chaplain  In  the 
army.  The  little  congregation  was  scattered,  and  their  house  of  worship 
was  turned  into  a  stable  by  the  British  troops.  When  peace  again  reigned 
the  minister  returned  to  the  city  to  take  up  his  charge,  but  could  find  only 
thirty-seven  of  the  former  two  hundred  and  fifty  members  of  his  church. 
He  valiantly  set  to  work  to  re-establish  the  body,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
house  of  worship  was  rehabilitated  and  the  membership  was  increased  to 
nearly  three  hundred.  In  1788  Mr.  Gano  resigned  his  charge,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Foster,  who  was  the  minister  for  ten  years. 
During  the  pastorate  of  his  successor,  the  Rev.  William  Collier,  the  church 
in  Gold  street  was  rebuilt  of  stone,  and  in  May,  18  02,  was  dedicated,  one 
of  the  sons  of  the  first  pastor  of  the  church,  the  Rev.  Stephen  Gano,  deliv- 
ering the  sermon  of  dedication.  This  church  was  taken  down  in  1840,  and 
it  is  said  the  stone  of  which  it  was  composed  was  worked  up  into  a  Baptist 
church  on  the  corner  of  Broome  and  Elizabeth  streets,  to  which  the  con- 
gregation soon  after  removed. 

Two  other  churches  of  this  denomination  were  founded  near  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  one  in  Oliver  street,  in  1795,  and  rebuilt  in  1819, 
afterward  known  as  the  Third  Baptist  Church,  and  another  in  Rose  street, 
built  of  brick  in  1799,  and  afterward  known  as  the  Fourth  Baptist  Church. 

147 


148  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

With  the  breaking  of  the  century  the  denomination  began  to  increase 
in  numbers,  so  that  from  1805  to  1824  ten  more  churches  were  built,  and 
numbered.  The  Fifth  Baptist  Church  was  founded  in  1805,  in  Anthony- 
street  (now  Worth);  the  Sixth,  in  1806,  in  Broome  street;  the  Seventh,  in 
1809,  and  rebuilt  in  1817,  in  Mulberry  street;  the  Eighth,  in  1810,  in 
Vandam  street;  the  Ninth,  in  1818,  in  York  street;  the  Tenth,  in  1819,  in 
Delancey  street;  the  Second,  in  1824,  in  Nassau  street,  between  John  and 
Fulton  streets;  the  Eleventh,  in  1825,  in  Provost  street  (now  Franklin); 
the  Twelfth,  in  the  Bowery,  opposite  Spring  street,  and  the  Thirteenth,  in 
Broome  street,  between  Lewis  and  Cannon  streets. 

The  Methodists  were  unknown  in  New  York  until  1766.  Early  in  this 
year  a  few  families  came,  and  with  them  a  local  preacher  from  Ireland,  the 
Rev.  Philip  Embury.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  began  to  hold  services  in  his 
own  house,  and  afterward  rented  a  room  in  the  soldiers'  barracks.  During 
the  early  winter  Thomas  Webb,  a  captain  in  the  British  Army,  and  also  a 
Methodist  minister,  stationed  at  Albany  as  barrack  master,  came  to  New 
York  and  preached  in  uniform  in  the  street.  It  was  such  an  unusual  occur- 
rence that  a  large  number  gathered  to  listen  to  him,  and  it  also  increased 
the  desire  of  Embury  to  procure  a  place  in  which  to  hold  services.  A  loft 
in  Horse  and  Cart  Lane  (now  William  street)  was  rented,  and  here  the 
Methodist  Church  in  New  York  had  its  foundation.  For  two  years  this 
place  was  occupied  by  the  disciples  of  Wesley.  In  1768  the  society  outgrew 
the  humble  tenement,  and  a  lot  was  purchased  in  John  street,  near  Nassau 
street,  on  which  a  little  edifice  was  built  62  feet  long  aQd  42  wide.  It  was 
the  first  Methodist  church  in  America,  and  was  christened  Wesley  Chapel. 
When  the  first  Methodist  conference  in  America  was  convened  at  Philadel- 
phia, in  1773,  it  was  reported  that  the  New  York  church  had  one  hundred 
and  eighty  members.  In  1784  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  regularly 
established  in  New  York. 

In  1817  Wesley  Chapel  was  removed  to  Harlem,  and  a  neat,  substantial 
building  of  stone,  78  by  62  feet,  was  erected  on  its  site.  The  record  says: 
"It  is  built  in  the  modern  fashion,  with  the  pews  sloping  from  the  rear  of 
the  house  down  to  the  pulpit,  which  is  low  and  separated  by  a  mahogany 
railing."  The  Second  Methodist  Church  was  founded  in  1789,  in  Forsyth 
street,  and  was  built  of  stone;  the  Third,  in  1797,  in  Duane  street,  also  of 
stone;  the  Fourth,  in  1800,  for  Africans,  and  rebuilt  in  1820,  in  Church 
street;  the  Fifth,  in  1806,  in  Mott  street;  the  Sixth,  in  1809,  in  Allen 
street;  the  Seventh  and  Eighth,  in  the  same  year,  the  first  in  Bedford 
street  and  the  second  in  Elizabeth  street,  for  Africans;  the  Ninth,  in  1818, 
in  Broome  street;  the  Tenth,  or  Bowery  Village,  Church  (now  the  Seventh 
Street  Church),  in  1818,  in  what  was  known  as  Nicholas  "V^illiam  Street 
(once  parallel  with  Stuyvesant  street,  but  now  blotted  out) ;  the  Eleventh, 
or  Wesleyan  Seminary,  in  1820,  in  Crosby  street;  the  Twelfth,  in  1821,  in 
Chrystie  street;  the  Thirteenth,  in  1825,  in  Delancey  street;  the  Four- 
teenth, in  1826,  in  Willett  street. 

The  Moravians  antedate  the  Baptists  and  Methodists  in  New  York 
City.  In  1736  two  Moravian  bishops  from  Germany,  on  their  way  to  Penn- 
sylvania, visited  the  city,  and  were  invited  to  hold  services  in  the  house 
of  John  Noble,  an  elder  in  the  Wall  Street  Presbyterian  Church.    The  elder 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  149 

became  interested  in  the  work  of  the  bishops,  and  offered  to  enlist  in  their 
cause.  They  acquiesced,  and  Noble  withdrew  from  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  began  to  organize  a  society  of  believers  in  the  work  of  the 
Moravian  Church.  Worship  was  held  privately  among  those  he  gathered, 
but  on  the  return  of  the  bishops  from  Pennsylvania  public  services  were 
held  by  a  congregation  of  nine  persons.  About  1741  a  colony  of  Mora- 
vians, on  their  way  to  Pennsylvania  in  charge  of  the  founder  of  the  Mora- 
vian Church  in  Germany,  landed  in  New  York  and  gave  an  impetus  to  the 
work  of  Elder  Noble,  so  that  the  organization  was  in  a  permanent  and 
flourishing  condition  when  Count  Zinzendorf  and  his  party  left  the  city.  In 
1751  a  church  4  4  by  34  feet  was  built  in  Fulton  street,  with  a  cemetery 
in  the  rear,  but  was  taken  down  and  rebuilt  in  1829.  In  1833  the  work  of 
widening  Fulton  street  was  begun,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  cut  off 
eight  feet  of  the  building.  In  1843  a  new  edifice  was  erected  on  the  corner 
of  Houston  and  Mott  streets,  and  the  Fulton  street  structure  was  removed 
and  the  lot  sold. 

The  first  Friend,  or  Quaker,  preached  in  New  York  in  1672,  though 
in  1658  two  women  of  a  party  of  Quakers  who  had  been  expelled  from 
New  England  earnestly  gave  vent  to  their  belief  in  the  streets,  and  were 
arrested  and  taken  to  the  prison  in  the  fort.  After  being  examined  they 
were  placed  on  board  a  ship  bound  for  Rhode  Island. 

The  Quakers  fared  poorly  under  Stuyvesant,  according  to  their  records. 
One  of  them,  Robert  Hodgson,  went  to  Hempstead,  intending  to  preach. 
He  was  arrested,  and  a  message  was  sent  to  Stuyvesant,  who  ordered  him 
brought  before  him.  After  being  examined  his  Bible  and  papers  were  taken 
from  him,  and  he  was  tied  in  a  painful  position  for  twenty-four  hours.  Two 
women  who  had  entertained  him  were  also  arrested  and  tied  into  a  cart  to 
the  back  of  which  the  preacher  was  fastened  with  his  head  downward,  and 
in  this  position  the  three  were  conveyed  through  the  streets  to  prison. 
"Hodgson  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  two  years'  hard  labor  with  a  negro  at 
the  wheelbarrow,  or  to  pay  a  fine  of  £50.  Unable  to  pay  the  fine,  he  was 
ordered  chained  to  the  wheelbarrow;  but,  being  unused  to  work,  could  not 
comply  with  the  order  to  move.  A  tarred  rope  was  then  plied  on  his  back 
by  a  negro  until  he  fell  exhausted.  He  was  lifted  up,  and  again  beaten 
until  he  fainted,  and  was  then  throAyn  into  his  cell  in  the  dungeon.  The 
third  day  he  was  brought  before  Stuyvesant,  who  told  him  he  must  work; 
that  he  would  be  whipped  every  day  until  he  did.  The  preacher  asked  what 
law  he  had  broken  to  warrant  his  being  punished  in  such  a  brutal  manner. 
For  answer  he  was  again  confined  for  three  days  without  anything  to  eat 
or  drink.  No  symptoms  of  surrendering  being  apparent,  he  was  taken  to  a 
private  room,  stripped  to  the  waist  and  suspended  from  the  ceiling  by  his 
hands,  with  a  heavy  log  of  wood  fastened  to  his  feet,  and  was  again  lashed 
by  a  negro  until  his  flesh  was  cut  to  pieces.  He  begged  to  see  some  person 
of  his  own  country,  and  an  Englishwoman  was  sent  to  him,  who  bathed 
his  wounds,  and  then  informed  her  husband  of  his  condition.  He  interceded 
for  the  preacher  and  offered  to  give  a  fat  ox  to  the  sheriff  if  he  were  per- 
mitted to  remove  Hodgson  to  his  house.  The  sheriff  refused  his  offer  and 
told  him  the  whole  fine  would  have  to  be  paid  before  mercy  could  be  shown 
to  the  preacher.     The  story  of  the  brutal  work  was  noised  around,  and, 


150  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

reaching  the  Governor's  sister,  Mrs.  Bayard,  caused  her  to  interfere,  with 
the  result  that  Hodgson  was  released,  but  in  an  almost  dying  condition." 

In  1661  a  proclamation  of  "conditions  and  privileges"  was  scattered 
through  the  British  Kingdom  at  the  instance  of  the  Holland  States  Gen- 
eral, telling  the  glories  of  New  Netherland  and  assuring  "persons  of  tender 
conscience"  that  they  would  be  protected  in  their  right  of  worship.  But 
this  was  not  for  the  Quakers.  They  were  still  to  be  persecuted.  It  was  not 
until  1685  that  they  obtained  recognition,  and  then  only  through  the  advo- 
cacy of  Penn,  who  found  gracious  treatment  at  the  hands  of  King  James. 

During  Cornbury's  administration  of  affairs  in  1702  "liberty  of  con- 
science was  granted  to  all  persons  except  papists,  and  the  solemn  affirmation 
of  the  Quakers  was  to  be  taken  instead  of  an  oath,"  but  special  care  was 
to  be  exercised  by  him  "that  God  Almighty  be  devoutly  and  duly  served." 
Two  years  later  the  first  meeting  house  of  the  Quakers  was 
established  in  Green  Street  Alley,  between  Liberty  street  and  Maiden  Lane, 
and  was  afterward  removed  to  Liberty  street.  In  1775  they  erected  a  house 
of  brick  in  Pearl  street,  between  Franklin  Square  and  Oak  street,  which 
was  taken  down  in  1824  to  make  room  for  other  buildings.  At  the  end  of 
the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  they  had  three  places  of  wor- 
ship— -in  Hester  street,  built  in  1819;  in  Rose  street,  built  in  1824,  and  in 
Manhattanville,  built  in  1825. 

Market  and  Orchard  streets  were  at  one  time  occupied  wholly  by  the 
Quakers.  The  latter  street  was  then  the  garden  spot  of  the  city,  with  com- 
fortable houses,  set  in  with  trees  and  shrubbery.  As  George  street  in  the 
old  days.  Market  street  had  an  evil  repute,  and  became  an  eyesore  to  the 
Quakers.  Appeal  was  made  to  the  city  authorities  to  change  its  condition, 
but  it  received  no  answer.  The  Quakers  adopted  their  own  measures  of 
reform  of  buying  the  entire  property,  rebuilding  some  of  the  houses  and 
purifying  all  of  them.  They  then  changed  the  name  of  the  street  to  Market, 
and  made  it  a  haven  of  social  rest  in  whose  vicinity  refinement  reigned.  ^ 

A  record  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  years  ago  says:  "The  Jews' 
petition  to  the  Governor  [Dongan]  for  liberty  to  exercise  their  religion, 
being  by  him  recommended  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  was  read  in  Com- 
mon Council,  and  they  returned  their  opinion  thereupon,  'That  noe  pub- 
lique  worship  is  tolerated,  by  act  of  Assembly,  but  to  those  that  professe 
faith  in  Christ,  and  therefore,  the  Jews'  worship  not  to  be  allowed.'  "  The 
foregoing  Is  the  first  mention  of  the  Jews  in  the  old  city,  though  they 
were,  no  doubt,  a  part  of  its  life  twenty  years  prior  to  the  date  of  the 
record.  At  that  time,  as  to-day,  their  worship  was  devoid  of  ostentation. 
Even  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  draw  them  into  the  maelstrom  incident 
to  religious  intolerance  with  the  promise  of  recognition  for  themselves,  it 
was  met  with  rebuffs.  In  1728  is  a  record  of  "a  lot  of  ground  granted  to 
the  Jews  for  a  burying  ground,  near  the  cripple  bush  or  swamp,  112  feet 
long  and  50  broad,  situated  opposite  Chatham  Square,  corner  of  Fayette 
street" — then  a  long  distance  out  of  the  city — and  two  years  later  a  record 
of  the  building  of  a  synagogue  in  Mill  street,  near  the  junction  of  the  pres- 
ent Beaver  and  Broad  streets.  In  1738  they  were  disfranchised  in  a  peculiar 
way.  Adolph  Philipse  had  been  Speaker  of  the  House  for  twelve  years,  but 
lost  his  seat  in  the  general  election  of  1737.     The  following  year,  at  a  special 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 


151 


election  held  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  one  of  the  members, 
Philipse  contested  the  election  with  the  son  of  the  deceased  member,  and 
was  elected.  The  opponent  entered  a  complaint  against  the  sheriff  of 
dishonesty  in  counting  the  votes,  and  his  examination  was  ordered.  He  was 
acquitted  of  fraud,  and  the  candidates  were  directed  to  exchange  lists  of 
questionable  electors.  The  qualification  of  the  Jews  as  electors  was  denied 
by  the  attorney  for  the  complaining  candidate,  and  the  opposing  counsel 
urged  the  "authority  of  the  law  which  gave  the  suffrage  to  all  free-holders 
of  competent  estates,  not  excepting  'the  descendants  of  Abraham,  according 
to  the  flesh.'  "  The  debate  lasted  for  three  days,  but  the  House,  before 
which  the  proceedings  took  place,  decided  that  Jews  could  not  vote,  and  it 
was  some  years  after  that  that  the  right  to  vote  was  given  to  them. 

At  the  time  the  Mill  street  congregation  was  established  few  of  the 
members  lived  above  Wall  street.  In  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, with  the  increase  in  the  commercial  growth  of  the  city  and  the 
continued  arrival  of  Jews  from  Europe,  the  erection  of  a  new  temple  be- 
came necessary,  and  a  building  formerly  used  as  an  African  church,  in  Elm 
street,  north  of  Canal,  was  purchased  and  fitted  up  by  the  German  and 
Polish  Jews.     These  were  the  only  places  of  worship  up  to  1830. 


\  Plan  obtlic  (   liv  (ii  Ni  u  '^loKK  IVom  an  actuo!  >Survtv 


J. 


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'^^■kJ..^  ^J^^. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


Eeligions — Roman  Catholic. 


Advent  of  the  Sect  in  the  City— Great  Intolerance  Shown  to  It— Opening 

of  a  Latin  School — Liberty  of  Conscience  Granted 

to  All  Except  "Papists." 

It  would  be  easier  to  write  the  liistory  of  the  Catholic  denomination  in 
the  city  of  New  York  after  1825  than  prior  to  that  date,  as  the  Church  has 
been  wofully  lax  in  the  keeping  of  records. 

This  may  be  attributed  to  two  causes:  First,  the  non-toleration,  under 
the  Dutch,  of  any  religion  but  the  Calvinist,  and,  second,  the  proscription, 
under  British  rule,  with  the  exception  of  the  period  of  the  Dongan  adminis- 
tration, of  Catholicity  and  Catholic  worship  under  penalty  of  the  law. 
Other  religious  bodies  were  subject  to  certain  intolerant  rules  during  both 
administrations,  and,  as  has  been  told  in  the  short  histories  of  the  denomina- 
tions, members  of  them  were  punished  for  the  infraction  of  these  rules,  but 
no  statute  law  existed  prohibiting  the  entrance  into  the  colony  of  any 
other  sect  but  the  Catholic. 

As  far  back  as  1643,  twenty-eight  years  after  the  settlement  was 
founded,  it  is  recorded  that  the  Dutch  ransomed  from  the  Mohawks  one 
Father  Isaac  Joques,  who  had  been  a  slave  in  the  tribe  for  nearly  a  year, 
and  brought  him  to  their  settlement,  and  that  there  he  found  two  of  his 
own  faith;  that  after  the  departure  of  this  priest  for  Holland,  another,  the 
Rev.  Francis  Joseph  Bressani,  who  had  also  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
Indians,  was  rescued  by  the  Dutch  and  brought  to  New  Amsterdam.  No 
record  exists,  however,  of  either  having  performed  priestly  functions. 

Under  the  administration  of  the  Duke  of  York  in  1664  no  person  who 
professed  Christianity  was  "to  be  molested,  fined  or  imprisoned  for  differing 
in  opinion  on  matters  of  religion,"  and  the  new  colony  was  opened  to  the 
Catholics,  but  few  of  the  sect  were  in  New  York  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
new  order  of  things.  In  1674  Governor  Andros  arrived,  and  with  him,  as 
Lieutenant  Governor,  came  Anthony  Brockholls,  a  Lancashire  Catholic.  The 
Lieutenant  Governor  interested  himself  in  the  affairs  of  his  religion,  and 
sought  to  increase  the  number  of  its  worshippers  in  the  colony.  Through 
him  a  few  Catholic  settlers  arrived,  and  petitions  were  made  to  the  Jesuit 
missionaries  on  the  Chesapeake  to  extend  their  mission  to  New  York,  which 
they  did  for  a  time.  With  the  advent  of  Governor  Dongan,  a  Catholic,  in 
1683,  religious  toleration  was  still  further  extended,  and  a  Catholic  mis- 
sion was  organized,  consisting  of  Father  Henry  Harrison  and  Father  Charles 
Gage,  with  two  lay  brothers.  They  were  to  minister  to  the  Catholics  in  the 
province  and  to  replace  the  French  missionaries  among  the  Indians.     For 

152 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NPAV     YORK.  153 

the  use  of  the  Governor  and  his  household  and  the  small  body  of  Catholics 
in  the  city  a  room  was  fitted  up  as  a  chapel  in  his  house  in  the  fort,  and 
here  the  first  worship  took  place.  In  1G84,  on  the  grounds  now  occupied 
by  Trinity  Church,  a  Latin  school  was  opened  by  the  Jesuits — the  first  edu- 
cational institution  of  the  kind  in  the  city,  and  presumably  under  the  con- 
trol of  Father  Thomas  Harvey,  who  accompanied  Dongan  from  England. 

The  peaceful  exercise  by  Catholics  of  their  religion  was  destined  to  be 
of  short  duration,  however,  a  religious  ferment  took  possession 
of  the  English  people  when  the  Edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked, 
in  1685,  and  they  began  to  scrutinize  the  acts  of  King  James  in 
officering  with  Roman  Catholics,  in  defence  of  law,  a  large  military  force 
which  he  had  ordered  to  be  organized.  New  York  caught  the  alarm,  and  a 
rumor  was  started,  based  on  the  establishment  of  the  Latin  school,  that 
Governor  Dongan  had  been  ordered  to  establish  the  Roman  Catholic  re- 
ligion in  the  colony.  The  citizens  became  alarmed,  removed  many  of  their 
children  from  the  school  and  sent  them  to  schools  in  New  England.  Don- 
gan's  Catholic  officers  were  closely  watched,  and  all  confidence  in  the 
Governor  was  passing  away.  A  change,  however,  was  taking  place  at  this 
time  in  the  affairs  of  New  England  and  New  York,  at  the  instance  of 
James,  v/hich  served  to  abate  the  suspicion  of  the  people.  He  resolved  to 
unite  his  colonies  under  one  viceregal  government,  with  either  Dongan  or 
Andros,  who  in  1686  had  been  commissioned  to  the  supreme  command  of 
New  England,  in  control.  Dongan,  "who  had  given  more  advice  and  shown 
more  official  zeal  than  was  agreeable  to  the  politicians  surrounding  James," 
was  retired  and  offered  a  major  generalship  of  artillery  in  the  British 
Army,  which  he  refused,  and  Andros  received  the  appointment.  New  York 
was  deeply  humiliated  with  the  loss  of  her  provincial  individuality,  but 
those  of  her  citizens  who  were  Protestants  rejoiced  in  the  change  of  Gov- 
ernors, as  Sir  Edmund  Andros  was  of  the  Church  of  England.  No  change 
of  note  occurred  in  the  religious  affairs  of  the  colony  under  the  Governor- 
ship of  Nicholson,  who  was  Lieutenant  Governor  under  Andros,  until  the 
news  arrived  of  the  downfall  of  James  and  the  accession  of  William  and 
Mary  to  the  throne.  Rejoicing  over  the  severance  of  the  bond  between  New 
England  and  herself,  which  occurred  in  May,  1689,  New  York  plunged 
headlong  into  intense  devotion  to  a  Dutch  prince  and  became  again  intol- 
erant of  Catholicism  and  intrenched  in  prejudice.  The  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor, even,  though  a  consistent  Episcopalian,  was  suspected  to  be  a  tool  of 
the  dethroned  James  and  secretly  at  work  in  his  interest,  and  many  sup- 
posed that  the  leading  Dutch  citizens  were  going  over  to  Catholicism.  On 
May  15  it  was  reported  that  ex-Governor  Dongan  was  the  instigator  of  an 
infernal  plot  to  destroy  New  York,  and  shortly  after  an  unsigned  petition 
was  presented  to  Colonel  Bayard  asking  that  the  Roman  Catholics  in  the 
city  be  disarmed,  though  at  the  time  they  were  few  in  either  city  or 
province,  and  there  were  not  twenty  among  the  soldiers.  Mayor  Van  Cort- 
landt,  suspecting  who  the  authors  of  the  petition  were,  sent  for  them  to 
come  and  sign  their  names.  They  refused,  and  demanded  an  answer  in 
writing  or  the  return  of  their  petition.  The  answer  was  given  to  them  ver- 
bally "that  their  wishes  would  be  respected,"  and  the  petition  was  re- 
turned.    Then  followed  the  Leisler  incident. 


154  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NElV    YORK. 

In  1691  William  ordained  a  government  for  New  York  which  continued 
substantially  in  operation  for  nearly  a  century.  To  the  new  Governor. 
Sloughter,  orders  were  given  to  grant  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  peaceable 
inhabitants  "except  papists,"  and  to  annul  the  "Charter  of  Liberties,"  by 
which  religious  tolerance  was  given  to  the  people.  Catholics  were  no  longer 
safe  in  the  city,  and  those  of  the  faith  who  had  means  removed  to  other 
parts  of  the  country,  while  those  without  means  found  it  necessary  for  their 
safety  to  show  no  outward  evidence  of  their  faith.  In  a  report  transmitted 
to  England  in  1696  by  Governor  Fletcher  it  was  stated  that  there  were  nine 
Catholics  in  New  York  City,  and,  "that  these  as  well  as  other  members  of 
their  faith  in  other  parts  of  the  colony  should  be  away  from  priestly  inter- 
vention," in  1700,  under  the  Governorship  of  Lord  Bellamont  and  through 
his  influence,  the  New  York  Legislature  passed  a  law  prohibiting  the 
entrance  of  any  Catholic  priest  "within  the  colony  of  its  limits,  as  claimed 
by  England."  A  heavy  punishment  was  set  down  in  the  law  for  violation  of 
it.  Enactments  were  also  made  prohibiting  Catholics  holding  office  or 
voting  for  any  civil  or  other  position  in  the  colony.  From  this  time  for  a 
large  number  of  years  the  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  New  York  is  lost 
in  darkness  or,  on  account  of  the  penal  laws,  was  never  written. 

In  1741  the  Negro  Plot  occurred,  and  as  some  Irish  Catholics  had  ar- 
rived a  short  time  previously  to  it,  it  was  supposed  that  they  had  lent  their 
aid  to  the  negroes  in  the  plot  to  burn  the  city.  "Ignorance  and  illiberal  pre- 
judice universally  prevailed,"  says  the  historian  of  the  event,  "and  it  is 
hoped  that  the  veil  of  filial  affection  will  be  drawn  over  the  errors  of  our 
forefathers." 

In  1756  Bishop  Challoner,  of  London,  describing  the  condition  of  his 
transatlantic  flock,  said  of  New  York:  "If  there  be  any  straggling  Catho- 
licks,  they  can  have  no  exercise  of  their  religion,  as  no  priests  ever  come 
near  them;  nor  to  judge  by  what  appears  to  be  the  present  disposition  of 
the  inhabitants,  are  ever  like  to  be  admitted  amongst  them."  At  the  time 
written  of  the  Catholic  settlements  of  America  were  looked  upon  as  "appur- 
tenances or  appendixes  of  the  English  mission,"  and  the  "Vicars-Apostolic  of 
London  since  the  time  of  James  II  always  had  authority  over  the  English 
colonies  and  islands  in  America." 

In  1764  we  find  that  on  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Theodore  Schneider, 
founder  of  the  German  Catholic  congregation  in  Philadelphia,  the  Rev. 
Ferdinand  Farmer,  of  the  Catholic  mission  in  Pennsylvania,  was  appointed 
to  take  charge  of  his  field  and  also  to  minister  to  the  Catholics  in  New 
Jersey,  and  that  he  extended  his  labors  to  New  York  and  ministered  to  a 
little  congregation  worshipping  in  the  house  of  a  German  co-religionist  in 
Wall  street.  At  what  precise  date  he  labored  in  the  city  it  is  impossible  to 
tell.  His  work  was  carried  on  secretly,  however,  as  an  act  was  in  existence 
up  to  and  during  the  Revolution  prohibiting  the  presence  of  a  Catholic 
priest  within  the  limits  of  the  colony. 

In  the  New  York  convention  of  1777,  for  the  framing  of  a  constitu- 
tion, Catholicism  was  attacked  by  John  Jay  in  an  amendment  offered  by 
him  to  the  section  on  naturalization,  as  follows:  That  the  person  applying 
for  naturalization  be  required  to  "abjure  and  renounce  all  allegiance  and 
subjection  to  all  and  every  foreign  king,  prince,  potentate  and  state  in  all 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  155 

matters  ecclesiastical  and  civil,"  and,  though  earnestly  opposed,  was  car- 
ried. By  it  Catholics  could  not  be  naturalized  until  they  renounced  subjec- 
tion to  the  Pope  in  ecclesiastical  affairs.  Another  amendment  was  offered 
by  Jay  when  the  section  on  toleration  came  up — "that  the  Legislature  have 
power  at  any  time  to  deny  toleration  to  any  sect  or  denomination."  This 
excited  so  much  debate  that  he  withdrew  it  and  offered  another,  "except  the 
professors  of  the  religion  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  who  ought  not  to  hold 
any  lands  or  be  admitted  to  a  participation  of  the  civil  rights  enjoyed  by  the 
members  of  this  State,  until  such  time  as  the  said  professors  shall  appear  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  this  State,  and  there  most  solemnly  swear  that  they 
verily  believe  in  their  consciences  that  no  pope,  priest  or  foreign  authority 
on  earth  hath  power  to  absolve  the  subjects  of  this  state  from 
their  allegiance  to  the  same.  And  further,  that  they  renounce 
and  believe  to  be  false  and  wicked  the  dangerous  and  damnable 
doctrine  that  the  Pope,  or  any  other  earthly  authority,  hath  power  to  ab- 
solve men  from  their  sins,  described  in  and  prohibited  by  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ;  and  particularly  that  no  pope,  priest  or  foreign  authority  on 
earth  hath  power  to  absolve  them  from  the  obligation  of  this  oath."  This 
amendment  was  defeated,  though  another  one  introduced  by  Jay  and  not  so 
broadly  put  was  carried,  which  contained  these  words  as  an  introduction  to 
the  free  exercise  of  worship  within  the  State:  "And  whereas,  we  are  re- 
quired by  the  benevolent  principles  of  rational  liberty,  not  only  to  expel 
civil  tyranny,  but  also  to  guard  against  that  spiritual  oppression  and  in- 
tolerance wherewith  the  bigotry  and  ambition  of  weak  and  wicked  princes 
have  scourged  mankind,  this  convention,"  etc.  The  legislature  adopted 
Jay's  idea,  and  worded  the  oath  of  office  in  conformity  with  his  suggestion, 
so  that  Catholics  from  abroad  were  prevented  from  becoming  naturalized 
as  citizens  of  New  York  State. 

The  prohibition  of  citizenship  and  the  exercise  of  priestly  functions  was 
also  extended,  before  the  Revolution,  to  the  printing  of  Catholic  books  in 
the  State,  which  at  that  time  contained  a  little  over  a  thousand  worshippers. 
But  with  the  establishment  of  peace  a  change  occurred,  and  the  Catholics 
of  the  city  resolved  to  worship  publicly.  The  Rev.  Ferdinand  Farmer,  who 
left  after  the  fire  of  1776,  came  openly  to  the  city  and  organized  a  little 
body  of  eighteen  communicants,  holding  services  in  the  house  of  one  of  the 
members.  In  October,  1784,  the  Rev.  Charles  Whelan,  who  had  been  a 
chaplain  in  the  French  service,  arrived  in  New  York,  and  was  invited  by 
the  Catholics  to  minister  to  them.  He  consented,  and,  without  waiting  for 
faculties,  took  up  the  burden  which  the  venerable  Ferdinand  Farmer  had 
borne  so  long.  A  place  in  which  to  worship  permanently  was  sought,  but 
the  little  community  at  the  time  were  without  sufficient  money  to  purchase 
anything  suitable,  and  had  to  be  satisfied  to  meet  wherever  they  could. 
In  April,  1785,  application  was  made  to  the  city  authorities  by  the  French 
Consul,  Hector  St.  John  de  Crevecoeur,  for  permission  to  use  the  Exchange, 
in  Broad  street,  then  occupied,  as  a  temporary  place  in  which  to  worship. 
It  was  not  granted,  and  the  Catholics  resolved  to  secure  ground  and  erect 
a  church.  On  June  10,  1785,  the  consul  and  three  other  persons  formed  a 
corporation  known  as  "the  Trustees  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the 
City  of  New  York,"  under  the  law  for  the  incorporation  of  religious  societies. 


156  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

which  had  been  passed  a  short  time  previously,  and  proceeded  to  obtain  a  site 
for  a  church.  During  the  summer  they  secured  a  lease  of  five  lots  in 
Barclay  street,  extending  to  Church  street,  on  which  a  carpenter  shop  stood, 
and  established  a  temporary  church  building  for  the  Catholics  of  New 
York  City.  In  August  Trinity  Church,  which  owned  the  fee,  agreed  to 
sell  them  the  reversion  on  easy  terms,  and  on  October  5,  1785,  the  corner- 
stone of  a  church  was  laid  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  They  were  -not 
able,  through  lack  of  funds,  to  proceed  with  the  work  of  building,  so  that 
it  was  not  until  November  4,  1786,  that  the  church  was  dedicated,  the  Rev. 
Andrew  Nugent,  a  Capuchin,  offering  the  first  mass  in  it,  Father  Whelan 
having  retired  in  the  preceding  February.  In  1787  the  Rev.  William 
O'Brien  succeeded  Father  Nugent,  and  continued  as  pastor  for  many  years. 

It  was  apparent  in  1809  that  this  church,  St.  Peter's,  was 
not  adequate  for  the  continually  increasing  number  of  Catholics, 
and  a  movement  was  started  to  found  a  church  in  honor  of 
the  patron  saint  of  Ireland.  The  project  was  entered  into  warmly, 
and  a  subscription  list  was  opened  to  buy  ground  and  to  pay 
for  the  erection  of  a  church.  The  site  selected  was  outside  the  city 
limits  at  the  time,  and  surrounded  by  hills  and  meadows.  On  June  8,  1809, 
the  cornerstone  was  laid  of  old  St.  Patrick's,  in  what  is  now  Mott  street. 
The  work  on  the  building  went  on  slowly,  and  it  was  not  until  1815  that  it 
was  ready  for  divine  service.  On  May  4  of  that  year  it  was  dedicated  with 
impressive  ceremonies,  and  was  considered  the  finest  church  edifice  in  the 
United  States.  The  first  ordination  of  a  priest  in  the  city  took  place  in  the 
church  in  1815,  that  of  the  Rev.  Michael  O'Gorman. 

In  1827  Christ  Church,  in  Ann  street,  was  purchased  and  rededicated 
as  a  Catholic  church.  From  authentic  sources  the  Catholic  population  at 
this  time  was  about  twenty-five  thousand,  composed  mainly  of  persons  who 
had  emigrated  from  Ireland,  though  there  were  enough  of  German  extraction 
to  require  services  in  the  German  language.  The  next  twelve  years  saw  a 
great  addition  to  the  growth  of  the  church  in  New  York  City,  as  out  of  a 
total  of  343,517  persons  arriving  at  New  York  from  foreign  countries  151,- 
672  were  from  Ireland  alone,  and  then  the  "Irish  vote"  began  to  count  in 
politics,  which  resulted  in  the  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  religious  intolerance 
laws,  the  historical  remembrance  of  which  has  almost  been  swept  away 
through  the  advance  of  education  and  enlightenment. 

New  York  City  was  made  the  see  of  a  Catholic  diocese  in  1808,"  and 
the  Rev.  Richard  Luke  Concanen,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic,  was  conse- 
crated bishop  at  Rome  on  April  24  of  that  year  to  preside  over  it.  The 
bishop  left  Rome  on  June  3,  for  Leghorn,  where  he  hoped  to  find  a  vessel 
for  some  port  in  the  United  States.  The  French  were  in  possession  of 
Leghorn  and  had  sequestered  American  vessels  because  they  had  been 
visited  by  English  cruisers,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  start  for 
his  new  see.  He  returned  to  Rome,  and  in  April,  1810,  made  another 
attempt  to  reach  the  colonies.  He  arrived  in  Naples,  and  succeeded  in 
securing  passage  on  a  vessel  bound  for  Salem,  Mass.,  which  was  to  start  on 
June  17.  His  passports  were  declared  unsatisfactory  by  the  Board  of  Police 
at  Naples,  and  he  was  ordered  not  to  embark.  This  action  depressed  him 
greatly,  and  caused  an  attack  of  fever,  from  which  he  died  on  the  following 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 


157 


day.  Father  Anthony  Kohlmann  was  appointed  to  administer  the  affairs  of 
the  diocese  until  his  successor  was  appointed.  On  November  6,  1815, 
Bishop  Concanen's  successor,  the  Right  Rev.  John  Connolly,  was  conse- 
crated at  Rome,  and  arrived  in  New  York  eighteen  days  afterward,  finding 
in  his  new  diocese  nearly  seventeen  thousand  Catholics. 


m^mm^^^mMmE^mMM^^m^^^^^ii^^^^^^^^^^^ 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 


(1798) 

Yellow  Fever  Scourge  Causes  Agitation  for    Drinking    Water    Supply — 

Aaron  Burr's  Scheme — The  Tea  Water  Pump — Building  of  Croton 

Aqueduct,    Central  Park   Reservoir   and   High   Bridge. 

With  the  possible  exception  of  the  year  in  which  Independence  was 
proclaimed,  no  other  year  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  so  fraught  with 
good  for  the  citizens  of  New  York  as  the  year  with  which  we  continue  our 
chronology,  1798.  While  it  opened  inauspiciously,  the  seat  of  government 
being  removed  to  Albany,  leaving  the  city  neither  a  State  nor  a  federal  cap- 
ital, and  while  the  scourge  of  yellow  fever  was  again  felt  by  the  inhabitants 
from  the  middle  of  the  year  until  its  end,  two  movements  for  the  benefit  of 
the  people  of  the  city  were  inaugurated — the  procuring  of  water  for  drink- 
ing purposes  and  the  appli»cation  of  steam  as  a  propulsive  power  on  water. 
We  will  treat  of  the  first  of  these  movements. 

^  Under  Stuyvesant  three  public  wells  were  ordered  sunk  in  the  middle 
of  three  streets  in  the  populous  part  of  the  town,  where,  in  case  of  fire, 
the  water  could  be  easily  obtained.  The  water  was  not  intended  for  drinking 
purposes,  as  the  drainage  and  rainwater  that  ran  through  the  centre  of  the 
street  poured  into  the  wells  and  made  their  contents  dangerous  to  the 
health  of  the  inhabitants.  On  occasions  when  the  flow  from  private  wells 
temporarily  ceased  no  other  recourse  was  left  to  the  people  but  to  use  the 
water  from  the  public  wells.  In  1701  four  more  of  these  were  sunk,  in 
Broadway,  Broad  street,  and  Wall  street,  with  the  hope  that  better  water 
would  be  obtained,  though  it  was  found  to  be  brackish  and  not  suitable 
for  drinking  purposes.  Movement  after  movement  was  started  by  the 
citizens,  when  the  scourges  of  yellow  fever  which  attacked  the  city  at 
different  periods  had  passed,  to  find  the  cause,  and  all  ended  in  inaction. 
Of  all  the  wells  in  use,  only  one — and  it  was  outside  the  limits  of  habitation, 
at  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Park  Row  and  Roosevelt  street — afforded 
pure,  cool  and  palatable  water.  Its  supply  was  apparently  inexhaustible, 
but  being,  it  was  said,  outside  the  limits  caused  much  trouble  to  the 
people  to  procure  a  part  of  it  when  it  was  most  needed.  The  enterprising 
mind  of  some  one  grappled  with  the  problem,  a  pump  was  put  into  it,  and 
its  product  was  drawn  into  casks  and  carried  to  the  doors  of  the  citizens, 
where  it  was  sold  to  them  at  a  penny  a  half  cask.  It  was  afterward  called 
the  Tea  Water  Pump,  a  name  which  is  to  a  degree  self-explanatory. 

In  1774  the  initial  step  was  taken  by  Christopher  Colles  toward  sup- 
plying the  city  with  water.  Under  his  direction  a  reservoir  was  constructed 
at  the  public  expense  on  the  east  side  of  Broadway,  between  Pearl  and  White 

158 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  I5q 

streets,  on  two  acres  of  ground  purchased  by  the  corporation  from  Augustus 
and  Frederick  Van  Cortlandt,  at  the  rate  of  £600  an  acre.  Into  this 
reservoir  water  was  raised  from  large  wells  sunk  on  the  premises,  and  also 
from  the  Collect,  and  distributed  by  means  of  wooden  pipes  throughout 
the  city.  The  supply  proved  insufficient,  the  water  was  of  an  inferior 
quality,  and  in  the  ensuing  foreign  occupation  of  the  city  the  enterprise 
was  neglected,  and  the  citizens  returned  to  the  wells  of  their  ancestors, 
which  still  continued  to  be  located  in  the  middle  of  the  streets. 

When  the  yellow  fever  broke  out  violently  in  July,  1798,  and  business 
was  suspended  and  schools  and  churches  closed,  the  farmers  even  ceasing 
to  bring  their  products  to  the  market  because  of  alarm,  the  citizens  con- 
sidered that  the  time  had  arrived  for  quick  action  regarding  the  evidently 
bad  condition  of  the  city's  water,  and,  with  a  death  list  of  over  two  thousand 
confronting  them,  appealed  to  the  corporation  for  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  of  inquiry.  A  preliminary  report  was  made  to  the 
corporation  by  a  Dr.  Brown,  who  affirmed  the  impurity  of  the  water 
on  the  island  and  recommended  the  appointment  of  a  competent  engineer 
to  investigate  and  report  a  feasible  plan  to  bring  in  water  from 
the  mainland.  On  his  recommendation  an  English  engineer  named  Watson 
was  appointed,  who  recommended  the  raising  of  the  Rye  Ponds  to  a  reservoir 
in  Westchester  County,  the  mills  to  be  located  on  the  Bronx  River,  "where 
the  surplus  water  would  be  used  in  raising  the  water,  which  would  thence 
be  carried  to  the  Harlem  River  in  an  open  canal,  then  conveyed  across  the 
river  through  an  elevated  iron  pipe  to  a  reservoir,  where  it  would  be  filtered, 
and  then  distributed  through  the  city." 

In  January,  1799,  "a  large  and  respectable  committee  of  the  Citizens, 
Physicians  and  of  the  corporation  was  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  causes 
of  the  late  pestilence,  and  in  two  long  and  able  reports  on  the  subject 
enumerated  the  following  causes:  Deep,  damp  cellars  and  filthy  sunken 
yards;  unfinished  water  lots;  burial  grounds  in  the  compact  part  of  the 
city;  narrow  streets;  sailors'  boarding  houses  and  tippling  shops;  digging 
up  made  ground;  putrid  substances  being  allowed  to  remain  in  streets 
and  houses,  and  the  want  of  an  adequate  supply  of  pure  and  wholesome 
water." 

When  the  report  of  this  "large  and  respectable  committee"  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  authorities,  shrewd  men  presented  various  schemes  to  meet 
the  emergencies  that  confronted  the  people.  One  of  these  men  was  Aaron 
Burr,  who  was  planning  to  extricate  New  York  from  the  hands  of  Hamilton 
and  the  Federalists,  the  first  step  being  his  own  election  to  the  Assembly. 
Burr  was  anxious  for  influence  to  that  end,  and  knew  that  among  a  certain 
class  of  men  the  more  publicity  was  given  to  his  movement  the  more  he 
would  be  talked  of  and  consequently  the  more  prominent  he  would  become. 
He  also  had  in  view  the  power  wielded  by  Hamilton  in  the  only  two  banks 
in  the  city,  which  were  considered  Hamilton's  creation,  and  through  which 
he  supposed  discounts  were  influenced  by  political  consideration.  "Taking 
advantage  of  the  investigations  regarding  the  cause  of  the  terrible  ravages 
of  yellow  fever  in  the  city  and  of  the  Impression  that  the  brackish  wells 
contributed  largely  to  the  spread  of  the  pestilence.  Burr  adroitly  organized 
a  company  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  supplying  the  city  with  pure  and 


i6o  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

wholesome  water,  but  which  was  to  use  and  exercise  all  the  privileges  of  a 
bank.  In  applying  to  the  legislature  for  a  charter  authority  was  asked  to 
raise  $2,000,000,  although  it  was  uncertain  how  much  money  was  needed. 
As  the  amount  named  might  possibly  be  too  much,  the  projectors  proposed 
to  insert  in  the  charter  a  provision  that  'the  surplus  capital  might  be 
employed  in  any  way  not  inconsistent  with  the  laws  and  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  or  of  the  State  of  New  York.'  "  While  under  discussion 
it  was  proposed  in  the  Senate  to  strike  out  of  the  bill  this  clause.  Burr 
objected,  saying  that  the  supplying  a  city  of  fifty  thousand  inhabitants  with 
water  would  not  of  itself  remunerate  the  stockholders,  and  that  it  was 
intended  to  give  the  directors  liberty  to  found  anything  they  wanted — an 
East  Indian  Company,  a  bank,  or  anything  else.  None  except  those  in  the 
secret  knew  that  the  name  Manhattan  Company  meant  Manhattan  Bank. 
The  bill  was  referred  to  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  State,  who  recommended 
its  rejection  because  of  the  unlimited  powers  conferred  by  the  surplus 
clause.  These  objections  were  overruled,  and  Governor  Jay  signed  the  bill. 
The  papers  of  the  day  attacked  the  Governor,  Burr  and  all  who  were  con- 
cerned in  the  scheme,  and  Burr  lost  his  election  to  the  Assembly.  After 
the  company  was  formed  it  obtained  a  grant  from  the  corporation  of  the 
grounds  formerly  occupied  by  Colles,  and,  erecting  a  reservoir  in  Chambers 
street,  between  Broadway  and  Centre  street,  pumped  water  into  it  from 
wells  sunk  in  the  vicinity,  whence  it  was  distributed  by  means  of  bored  logs 
through  the  city.  The  company  soon  tired  of  this  scheme,  as  did  the  people 
of  the  bad  water,  and  turned  its  attention  to  the  banking  business.  No 
record  exists  of  this  company  having  even  attempted  to  bring  water  into 
the  city.         "^ 

Again  the  people  had  to  return  to  the  Tea  Water  Pump,  whose  water 
appeared  to  taste  sweeter  than  ever,  and  in  emergencies  to  the  brackish 
water  of  the  other  wells  on  the  island.  But  new  schemes  were  not  wanting 
for  supplying  the  city  with  water,  such  as  cutting  an  open  canal  to  the 
Housatonic  River,  in  Connecticut,  or  obtaining  water  from  the  Passaic 
River,  in  New  Jersey,  or  boring  artesian  wells.  None  of  them  was  adopted, 
however.  Some  one  called  attention  to  the  Croton  River,  flowing  into  the 
Hudson  near  the  old  Van  Cortlandt  Manor  House,  forty  miles  above  the 
city.  It  offered  special  advantages,  as  it  traversed  a  region  where  ten  or 
more  natural  lakes  might  at  any  time  be  brought  into  service.  In  1834 
surveys  were  ordered  of  this  region  and  estimates  made  of  the  cost  to  the 
city  of  supplying  it  with  water  from  this  point.  Among  the  commissioners 
was  an  alderman  from  the  Second  Ward  named  Samuel  Stevens,  who,  after 
the  report  of  the  commission  was  made  public,  persevered  intelligently  for 
the  fulfilment  of  his  idea  to  bring  good  water  in  abundance  into  every 
home.  Some  of  the  other  commissioners  favored  the  Bronx  scheme  before 
spoken  of. 

At  last  a  board  of  engineers  reported  in  favor  of  an  aqueduct  fifteen 
miles  long  to  take  Croton  water  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  deliver 
thirty  million  gallons  daily  at  a  distributing  reservoir  on  Murray  Hill.  It 
was  a  much  bolder  plan  than  the  one  proposed  in  1798,  but  the  principle 
was  the  same — an  aqueduct  to  the  Harlem  River;  across  this  by  a  lofty 
bridge;   then  to  the  distributing  reservoir.     As  the  cost  of  such  a  system 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  l6i 

would  run  into  the  millions,  the  legislature  ordered  a  vote  of  the  people 
in  183  5  to  decide  whether  the  work  should  be  done.  A  large  majority- 
favored  the  scheme,  but  a  few  murmured  at  the  cost.  At  the  end  of  the 
yQa.r,  however,  the  great  fire  occurred,  and  was  an  object  lesson  to  the 
grumblers  of  the  imperfect  condition  of  their  so-called  water  system.  Every 
one  agreed  that  the  work  should  be  started  at  once,  and  engineers  staked 
out  Croton  Lake  and  laid  the  course  of  the  aqueduct  from  the  dam  to  the 
Harlem.  They  then  built  a  dam  across  the  Croton  River  and  made  a  basin 
capable  of  holding  five  hundred  millions  of  gallons,  covering  four  hundred 
acres  of  land.  "An  aqueduct  was  constructed  down  to  the  Harlem  River, 
carrying  the  healing  streams  by  tunnels  through  rocks  and  hills  and  upon 
embankments  across  valleys  and  intervening  streams,  and  across  the  Harlem 
was  thrown  the  present  High  Bridge.  This  bridge  struck  the  island  at 
the  present  One  Hundred  and  Seventy-fourth  street.  Later  a  small  reservoir 
was  built  here  for  Harlem  houses.  The  water  was  brought  to  the  open  air 
for  the  first  time  after  its  journey  of  forty  miles  in  a  reservoir  placed  at 
what  was  supposed  would  be  Sixth  avenue  and  Eighty-sixth  street,  but 
which  location  was  taken  in  by  Central  Park,  where  it  may  be  seen." 

On  June  22,  1842,  the  work  was  practically  completed  from  the  Croton 
to  the  distributing  reservoir  at  Fifth  avenue  and  Forty-second  street,  except 
that.  High  Bridge  not  being  finished,  the  water  was  carried  for  the  time 
being  by  syphon  pipes  under  the  Harlem  River.  Celebrations  by  the  people 
were  now  the  order  of  the  day.  On  June  22  water  was  for  the  first  time 
let  into  the  canal,  or  conduit,  and  a  little  boat  of  special  design,  called  the 
Croton  Maid,  holding  four  persons,  was  sent  through  its  entire  length  for 
the  purpose  of  a  thorough  inspection.  On  June  27  water  was  admitted 
to  the  receiving  reservoir,  at  Eighty-sixth  street,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Governor  of  the  State  and  the  city  dignitaries,  and  on  July  4,  with  suitable 
ceremonies,  into  the  distributing  reservoir  on  Murray  Hill.  On  October  14, 
1842,  a  monster  celebration  took  place,  the  like  of  which  was  not  surpassed 
in  the  city's  history  up  to  that  time.  The  whole  population  was  given  a 
chance  to  express  its  delight  at  the  work  which  man  had  bestowed  on  it. 
The  State  officials  were  again  present,  with  foreign  consuls,  mayors  of  other 
cities  and  dignitaries  of  the  nation.  In  that  part  of  City  Hall  Park  given 
over  to  the  postoffice  a  splendid  and  ingeniously  arranged  fountain  had  been 
placed,  with  a  large  pipe  and  eighteen  smaller  ones  in  its  centre,  through 
which,  by  shifting  the  plate  of  the  conduit  pipe,  the  water  could  be  made 
to  assume  different  shapes.  After  the  president  of  the  water  commission 
had  made  a  formal  transfer  of  the  aqueduct  to  the  city,  and  artillery 
thundered  in  honor  of  the  event,  the  fountain  was  set  playing  sixty  feet 
into  the  air,  and  for  two  hours  a  procession  indicating  by  floats  the  interest 
which  each  trade  or  profession  took  in  the  enterprise  completed  passed  the 
reviewing  stand.  It  may  be  well  to  mention  that  nothing  but  Croton 
water  was  served  at  the  reception  given  by  the  city  authorities  at  the 
City  Hall. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


(1798) 

The  First  Steamboat — Monopoly  of  Hudson  TrafBc  Granted  to  Robert  R. 

Livingston — His  Craft  a  Failure — Fulton  and  the  Clermont's 

First  Trip  to  Albany — First  Steam  Ferryboats. 

The  second  movement  inaugurated  in  1798  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  was  the  application  of  steam  as  a  propulsive  power  on  water.  At 
the  first  session  of  the  legislature  held  that  year  Chancellor  Robert  R. 
Livingston,  who  had  sailed  around  the  Collect  the  previous  year  in  Fitch's 
boat,  appeared  before  the  body  with  a  plan  for  "applying  the  steam  engine 
in  such  a  way  as  to  propel  a  boat."  As  the  experiment  would  be  expensive, 
he  wanted  the  assurance  of  the  legislature  that  in  the  event  of  its  proving 
successful  he  would  be  protected  in  whatever  advantages  were  derived  from 
the  operation  of  his  scheme.  While  the  members  of  the  House  listened 
with  apparent  interest  to  the  Chancellor's  views  on  steam  propelled  boats, 
when  the  bill  to  protect  him  in  his  rights  was  introduced  by  his  friend.  Dr. 
Samuel  L.  Mitchell,  they  received  its  reading  with  laughter,  and  some  of 
them  with  ridicule.  The  bill's  sponsor  was  as  much  interested  in  the  ulti- 
mate success  of  Chancellor  Livingston's  experiment  as  the  Chancellor  was, 
and  persisted  in  pushing  the  bill  until  it  was  either  accepted  or  rejected. 
The  House  played  with  it  for  a  while,  and  made  sport  of  Dr.  Mitchell,  but 
eventually,  believing  in  his  sincerity,  passed  an  act  which  gave  to  Judge 
Livingston  "the  exclusive  right  and  privilege  of  navigating  all  kinds  of  boats 
which  might  be  propelled  by  the  force  of  fire  or  steam,  on  all  the  waters 
within  the  territory  or  jurisdiction  of  the  State  of  New  York  for  a  term 
of  twenty  years  from  the  passing  of  the  act — upon  condition  that  he  should 
within  a  twelvemonth  build  such  a  boat,  the  mean  of  whose  progress  should 
not  be  less  than  four  miles  an  hour." 

The  Chancellor  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  act  had  made  an  agreement 
with  Nicholas  Roosevelt,  of  the  old  New  York  family,  and  Colonel  John 
Stevens  to  build  a  boat  on  joint  account,  the  engines  for  which  were  to  be 
constructed  by  Roosevelt  at  his  shop  on  the  Passiac,  the  propelling  agency  to 
be  planned  by  Livingston,  with  the  co-operation  of  Stevens.  It  was  because 
of  the  promising  signs  of  success  that  the  protection  of  the  legislature  was 
sought.  However,  on  October  21,  1798,  the  craft  was  completed  and  ready 
for  the  trial  trip.  It  proved  a  failure.  Later  Stevens  persuaded  the  Chan- 
cellor to  put  a  set  of  paddles  in  the  stern,  with  the  result  that  the  craft 
on  which  Livingston  had  built  his  hopes  was  shaken  to  pieces  and  was 
abandoned.  The  Chancellor  was  not  easily  beaten,  however.  A  few  years 
later  he  was  the  accredited  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States 

162 


CRADLE    DAYS     OP     XEIV     YORK.  163 

to  France,  and  became  acquainted  with  Robert  Fulton.  Fulton  in  1785 
was  known  only  as  a  miniature  portrait  painter  in  New  York,  and  had  gone 
over  to  Europe  to  study  art  with  Benjamin  West.  In  his  trips  among  the 
rural  mansions  of  the  nobility  to  study,  at  West's  suggestion,  the  master- 
pieces possessed  by  many  of  them,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Earl 
of  Bridgewater,  then  interested  in  England's  canal  system.  During  his 
intercourse  with  the  earl  Fulton  found  that  his  tastes  lay  more  toward 
civil  engineering  than  toward  art,  and  adopted  the  former  profession.  His 
successful  experiments  began  to  be  mooted  throughout  the  Continent,  and 
one  of  them,  with  submarine  torpedoes  and  torpedo  boats,  created  so  much 
anxiety  in  the  minds  of  the  officials  of  the  English  government  that  they 
hastened  to  acquaint  themselves  with  all  his  doings. 

When  Fulton  called  upon  Chancellor  Livingston  he  found  him  receptive 
regarding  his  scheme  to  construct  a  steamboat,  whose  trial  trip  was  to  take 
place  on  the  Seine.  Work  was  begun  on  the  craft,  and  it  was  completed 
in  1803.  The  first  trial  resulted  in  the  boat  going  to  the  bottom  of  the 
river  because  its  hull  was  not  able  to  sustain  the  weight  of  the  machinery. 
It  was  taken  up  and  reconstructed,  and  another  trial  proved  successful.  The 
Chancellor  saw  at  once  that  Fulton's  idea  or  model  was  better  than  Fitch's 
or  his  own,  and  agreed  to  enter  into  partnership,  Joel  Barlow,  a  man  of 
means,  guaranteeing  Fulton's  share  of  the  finances.  In  the  mean  time 
Livingston  wrote  home  and  procured  an  extension  of  the  legislative  act 
granted  in  1798  by  the  State  of  New  York,  and  thus  secured  the  monopoly 
of  the  Hudson  for  a  few  years  longer.  He  was  convinced  that  a  boat 
could  be  successfully  moved  by  steam  over  the  waters  of  New  York,  and 
from  his  large  wealth  was  willing  to  give  enough  money  to  accomplish  the 
result.  Through  his  aid  an  engine  was  ordered  built  in  England  from 
plans  which  Fulton  furnished,  and  in  1806  Fulton  returned  to  New  York 
to  build  the  boat  to  contain  it.  The  Chancellor  could  not  stay  in  France 
while  the  work  was  under  way,  and  resigned  his  mission  in  1805,  traveling 
for  a  few  months  on  the  Continent  and  reaching  New  York  about  the  time 
the  engine  arrived  at  the  shipyard  of  Brown  Brothers,  at  the  foot  of  East 
Houston  street. 

The  building  of  the  craft  created  great  discussion,  the  possibility  of  its 
success  was  denied,  and  those  who  watched  its  construction  were  filled  with 
incredulity.  And  it  was  a  strangely  constructed  affair,  130  feet  long,  18 
feet  beam  and  7  feet  in  depth,  of  160  tons  burden,  with  two  masts,  rigged 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  sails;  a  deckhouse  pierced  by  windows  and  fitted 
up  with  twelve  berths,  the  space  at  both  ends  of  it  open  to  the  sky.  When 
the  machinery  arrived  it  was  put  up  piece  by  piece  within  the  boat,  the  last 
of  the  fittings  being  a  great  iron  pipe,  which  rose  from  the  centre  of  the 
boat  to  the  height  of  the  masts,  and  two  great  wheels  hung  on  either  side 
like  those  in  use  in  mills. 

The  day  for  the  trial  trip  arrived,  and  it  was  with  evident  reluctance 
that  the  persons  invited  by  Fulton  to  participate  were  present.  Very  few 
believed  the  boat  would  ever  reach  its  destination,  and  dire  disaster  was 
predicted  by  others.  "Silent  and  uneasy,  they  stood  around  in  groups  when 
the  signal  was  given  to  start.  When  the  great,  uncouth  wheels,  without 
any  wheelboxes,  stirred  the  water  into  a  white  foam  and  the  boat  moved 


i64  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

forward,  many  closed  their  eyes  and  v/aited  for  the  moment  when  they 
T.'ould  be  either  sent  skyward  or  go  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  river.  The 
boat  stopped  suddenly,  and  the  crowd  lining  the  river  bank  shouted  deri- 
sively to  those  on  board.  Fulton  was  evidently  perplexed,  and  asked  the 
indulgence  of  the  passengers  for  half  an  hour,  promising  that  if  he  could 
not  remedy  the  trouble  he  would  abandon  the  undertaking.  He  hurried 
below,  found  the  cause  to  be  the  improper  adjustment  of  some  of  the 
machinery,  and  quickly  remedied  it.  After  going  a  short  distance  the  craft 
was  headed  homeward,  and  the  trial  trip  was  successful." 

On  Friday,  August  4,  1807,  an  advertisement  appeared  in  the  New 
York  newspapers  which  astonished  every  one  who  read  it.  Fulton's  craft, 
christened  the  Clermont,  after  Livingston's  country  seat  on  the  Hudson, 
was  announced  to  sail  from  the  foot  of  Cortlandt  street  at  half  past  6 
o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  August  7,  and  would  take  passengers  to  Albany 
at  $7  each.  On  the  day  of  sailing  all  the  berths  had  been  taken,  and 
thousands  of  people  lined  the  shore  in  the  vicinity  of  the  dock  to  see  the 
boat  depart — some  with  hope,  some  with  despair.  When  she  moved  out 
of  the  dock  and  reached  mid-stream  a  burst  of  applause  rent  the  air.  On 
her  way  north  she  presented  a  strange  spectacle,  with  immense  columns  of 
black  smoke  issuing  from  her  tall  smokestack,  mingled  with  sparks  and  a 
cloud  of  ashes,  and  every  now  and  then  flames  rising  far  in  the  air  from  the 
pine  wood  fuel  she  was  being  fed  with.  At  dark  this  spectacle  appalled  the 
crews  of  other  vessels,  and  many  bowed  the  knee  in  prayer  for  protection. 
It  surely  presented  to  the  uncouth  mind  of  the  farmer  "the  devil  on  his  way 
to  Albany  in  a  sawmill." 

Fulton  enjoyed  his  triumph  as  the  speed  increased  and  the  new  power 
which  he  had  chained  to  his  bidding  bore  him,  in  defiance  of  wind  and  tide, 
far  from  the  city.  At  the  country  seat  of  Chancellor  Livingston  he  stopped 
to  take  on  wood,  and  continued  his  trip  to  Albany,  which  he  reached  in 
thirty-two  hours,  and  thus  secured  the  monopoly  of  steam  navigation  over 
the  waters  of  New  York. 

On  Friday,  August  11,  the  citizens  were  amazed  to  see  the  Clermont 
coming  back  again.  They  didn't  believe  she  had  made  the  trip  to  Albany, 
but  Fulton  published  an  official  and  sworn  statement  in  the  newspapers  that 
he  had  reached  Clermont  in  exactly  twenty-four  hours,  had  rested  there 
over  night,  and  proceeded  to  Albany,  which  he  reached  in  eight  hours  on 
Wednesday;  that  he  started  from  Albany  on  Thursday  at  9  A.  M.,  stopped 
one  hour  at  Clermont  and  proceeded  to  New  York,  accomplishing  the  trip 
of  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  coming  down  in  just  thirty  hours,  fulfilling  the 
terms  of  the  act  of  the  legislature.  Within  four  years  the  Clermont  was 
improved  and  enlarged,  and  its  name  changed  to  the  North  River.  Two 
other  boats  were  also  added  to  what  now  was  designated  the  Albany  Line, 
the  Car  of  Neptune  and  the  Paragon,  each  larger  than  its  predecessor  and 
abounding  in  improvements. 

But  Fulton's  success  was  too  marked,  and  his  prosperity  was  watched 
by  envious  eyes.  Legal  difficulties  touching  his  right  exclusively  to  navigate 
the  Hudson  beset  him.  New  Jersey  claimed  that  it  was  too  wide  a  privilege 
to  be  given  by  the  legislature  of  a  single  State,  and  other  inventors  denied 
his  having  originated  the  idea  of  steam  as  a  propulsive  force  on  water. 


CRADLE     DAYS     OF    NFJV     YORK.  165 

Every  kind  of  argument  was  used  to  invalidate  Fulton's  pretensions  as  an 
inventor  of  the  steamboat.  But  he  earned  his  fame  justly,  and  all  authori- 
ties agree  that,  at  the  time  the  trial  trip  of  the  Clermont  took  place,  in  no 
other  part  of  the  globe  was  another  steamboat  in  successful  operation. 

In  the  mean  time  one  of  the  two  associates  of  Chancellor  Livingston, 
Colonel  John  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  was  not  idle.  While  Fulton  was  in 
Europe  in  1804,  Stevens  built  an  open  steamboat  sixty-eight  feet  long,  with 
a  screw  propeller,  and  the  next  year  another  one,  with  twin  screws.  So 
successful  were  the  trial  trips  of  these  boats  that  he  set  about  eclipsing  the 
Fulton  boat.  He  built  the  Phoenix,  and  launched  her  a  few  weeks  after 
Fulton  was  hailed  pioneer  of  steam  propulsion  on  water.  She  made  regular 
trips  between  New  Brunswick  and  New  York,  but  was  prevented  from 
showing  her  work  in  New  York  waters  on  account  of  the  legislative  act 
passed  to  protect  Chancellor  Livingston.  To  prove  her  capability,  hov/ever, 
Robert  Livingston  Stevens,  the  colonel's  son,  made  the  passage  with  her 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  by  sea  in  the  early  summer  of  1808,  and  ran 
her  on  the  Delaware  for  a  short  time. 

With  protests  being  constantly  made  to  the  courts  against  the  monopoly 
held  by  Livingston  and  Fulton,  it  was  not  wondered  at  when  the  work  of  the 
legislature  was  nullified,  and  the  field  of  steam  navigation  opened  to  all 
who  had  inventive  talent.  The  Stevenses  were  not  slow  to  take  advantage 
of  the  new  order  of  things,  and  a  few  years  after  some  of  their  finest  pro- 
ductions plied  on  the  Hudson. 

A  new  method  of  communication  between  the  islands  adjacent  to 
New  York  began  to  engross  the  attention  of  Fulton  and  Stevens  in  1809. 
At  this  time  the  ferryboats,  with  two  exceptions,  were  barges  propelled  by 
oars.  The  exceptions  were  boats  which  had  been  recently  constructed, 
with  wheels  in  the  centre,  turned  by  a  horizontal  treadmill  v/orked  by  horses, 
and  called  horseboats.  In  October,  1811,  Stevens  put  into  operation  the  first 
steam  ferryboat,  which  plied  between  New  York  and  Hoboken,  and  was  the 
first  used  in  any  part  of  the  world.  In  1812  Fulton  built  a  small  steam 
ferryboat  for  the  Paulus  Hook  ferry,  and  before  the  following  year  had 
ended  two  other  ferryboats  were  built  to  connect  New  York  with  Brooklyn. 

Here  is  an  interesting  question  for  historians:  Was  the  name  of  Ful- 
ton's first  boat  the  Clermont  or  Katherine  of  Clermont,  so-called,  it  is  said, 
in  honor  of  Fulton's  wife,  who  was  a  niece  of  Chancellor  Livingston? 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 


(1798-1799.) 


History  of  Section  from  Ann  Street  to  PearL  Street — ^Where  Leisler  and  Mil- 
borne  Were  Buried — The  Place  of  Execution — Catimut's  Hill — 
First  Day  of  Thanksgiving — Death  of  Washington. 

A  most  interesting  history  surrounds  the  locality  bounded  by  Broad- 
way, Ann  street,  Pearl  street,  and  the  east  side  of  the  present  Park  Row. 
The  first  section,  from  Beekman  street  to  Ann  street,  and  from  Park 
Row  to  Nassau  street,  was  owned  by  Governor  Dongan,  and  was  known  as 
the  Governor's  Garden,  subsequently  as  the  Vineyard.  It  was  a  place  of 
public  resort,  or  pleasure  garden,  until  1762,  when  the  Dongan  heirs  sold  it 
to  Thomas  White,  who  divided  it  into  building  lots.  The  first  building 
occupied  the  lot  on  the  corner  of  Ann  street.  It  had  a  frontage  of  49  feet 
on  Park  Row  and  a  depth  of  81  feet  on  Ann  street,  the  occupant  being 
Andrew  Hopper,  who  had  purchased  it  for  £328  in  1773.  The  following 
year  the  street,  "beginning  at  the  house  of  Andrew  Hopper,  nearly  opposite 
St.  Paul's  Church,  and  leading  to  the  fresh  water,"  was  by  ordinance  named 
Chatham  street,  in  compliment  to  the  British  earl  for  his  advocacy  of 
American  interests.  Up  to  the  end  of  the  war  several  small  frame  buildings 
were  erected  on  this  portion  of  Chatham  street,  and  it  was  commonly  known 
as  Chatham  Row.  After  the  war  footwalks  were  first  laid  upon  it,  and  be- 
tween 1786  and  1796  sixteen  parcels  of  property  between  Ann  and  Beek- 
man streets  were  sold  at  prices  ranging  from  £200  to  £1,250,  the  parcel 
of  three  lots  on  which  the  Park  Theatre  was  afterward  erected,  with  the 
building  thereon,  being  sold  for  £  1,000.  "The  most  elegant  building  for 
that  purpose  in  America,"  as  a  writer  of  1798  described  the  new  place  of 
amusement  for  New  Yorkers,  cost  $179,000,  and  was  sold  at  auction  soon 
after  to  Messrs.  Astor  and  Beekman  for  $50,000.  After  its  second  destruc- 
tion by  fire  in  1849  no  attempt  to  re-establish  a  theatre  "so  far  downtown" 
was  made,  but  on  the  site  Mr.  Astor  erected  five  brownstone  stores.  Some 
of  these  stood  until  late  in  the  last  century. 

Park  Row,  betvv^een  Beekman  and  Spruce  streets,  was  originally  part 
of  the  city  commons,  lying  open  in  the  same  manner  as  the  present 
park  did  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century.  Beekman  street  and  other 
streets  contiguous  to  it  were  opened  in  1749,  the  former  being  laid  out 
and  paved  the  following  year.  The  increasing  population  moved  in  their 
direction  rather  than  westwardly,  and  aroused  the  ministers  and  elders  of 
the  English  Presbyterian  Church  to  petition  the  city  corporation  for  addi- 
tional church  accommodations,  as  the  membership  had  increased  and  the 
cemetery  attached  to  the  Wall  street  church  had  become  too  small.     They 

i66 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    .YEIV     YORK.  167 

particularly  favored  the  triangular  plot  of  ground  between  Beekman  and 
Spruce  streets.  The  corporation  was  favorable  to  the  application,  but  pre- 
ferred to  give  the  Church  ground  belonging  to  the  city  in  a  locality  east  of 
Chatham  street,  between  the  present  Chambers  and  Pearl  streets.  The 
Church  authorities  objected  to  the  location  proffered,  on  the  ground  "that 
access  to  the  lots  was  inconvenient,  as  the  street  leading  to  them  (probably 
Duane)  was  so  narrow  that  two  or  three  carriages  would  fill  up  the  passage, 
and  it  was  not  likely  that  that  part  of  the  city  would  be  paved  for  many 
years;  that  the  Dutch  Church  [which  had  obtained  the  grant  in  fee  of 
twenty-eight  lots,  ten  of  which  fronted  northeasterly  to  Queen  (Pearl) 
street,  eight  southeasterly  in  Thomas  (now  Rose)  street,  and  ten  westerly 
in  George  (William)  street,  at  a  rent  of  £70  per  annum]  and  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  if  erected  at  such  little  distance  apart,  would  interrupt 
each  other  in  service,  and  that  a  church  in  that  locality  would 
not  be  an  ornament  to  the  city,  hidden,  as  it  would  be,  by  sur- 
rounding buildings."  Their  arguments  in  favor  of  the  location  they  sought 
were  that  it  was  near  the  populous  part  of  the  city,  that  in  its  existing  con- 
dition the  •locality  was  a  nuisance,  and  that  it  would  never  be  suitable  for 
building  purposes,  the  form  being  a  triangle.  They  finally  offered  £40  a 
year  for  the  ground,  and  after  some  deliberation  the  city  authorities  made 
them  the  grant  forever  at  the  sum  offered.  The  property  embraced  about 
eight  or  nine  city  lots.  In  1767  they  built  their  church  and  opened  it  for 
service  the  following  year.  It  remained  one  of  the  most  popular  churches 
in  the  city  until  1856,  when  it  was  closed  to  religious  service  and  soon  after 
demolished,  the  property  having  been  sold  for  the  erection  of  business  build- 
ings.    Office  buildings  now  occupy  the  site. 

The  second  section,  east  side  of  Chatham  street,  from  Spruce  to  William, 
was  a  part  of  the  plantation  originally  granted  to  Covert  Loockermans,  a 
merchant  of  New  Amsterdam,  in  1642.  Loockermans  was  the  father-in-law 
of  Jacob  Leisler,  who,  after  the  death  of  the  former,  purchased  the  property 
from  his  heirs.  The  southerly  line  ran  about  sixty  feet  north  of  Spruce 
street,  and  the  northerly  line  began  about  the  present  junction  of 'William 
street.  Near  the  southerly  line  of  this  property,  it  may  be  remarked,  not 
far  from  the  present  Park  Row  and  Spruce  street,  Leisler  and  his  son-in-law, 
Milborne,  after  their  execution,  were  first  buried,  the  gallows  being  nearly 
opposite  the  place  of  burial.  After  the  restoration  to  the  heirs  of  Leisler's 
estate,  by  act  of  Parliament,  it  was  divided  into  lots  and  sold,  two  of  them, 
in  1749,  on  the  northeast  corner  of  what  is  now  Nassau  and  Frankfort 
streets,  bringing  £  300,  and  four,  extending  through  from  Nassau  to  William 
street,  59  by  100  feet,  bringing   £400  in  1762. 

In  1761  the  streets  in  this  vicinity  were  first  regulated.  The  grade  of 
Frankfort  street  was  fixed  and  the  inhabitants  were  ordered  to  pave  it.  In 
1811  a  great  fire  destroyed  all  the  buildings  in  this  neighborhood.  It 
broke  out  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Chatham  and  Duane  streets,  and  swept 
the  buildings  on  both  sides  of  Chatham  street  to  the  number  of  one  hundred. 
Immediately  after  this  fire  Tammany  Hall  erected  a  building  (still  standing, 
at  Frankfort  and  Nassau  streets)  as  the  headquarters  of  the  Democratic 
party,  which  had  formerly  been  on  the  corner  of  Nassau  and  Spruce  streets. 

In  early  times  "the  park  along  Chatham  street"  was  known  as  the  place 


i68  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

of  execution,  the  common  gallows  being  the  only  structure  within  its  limits. 

The  third  section,  the  vicinity  of  Chatham  street  south  of  Pearl,  was 
once  called  Catimuts  Hill,  then  Windmill  Hill,  then  Fresh  Water  Hill.  The 
first  name  was  of  Indian  derivation;  the  second  explains  itself,  the  mill 
having  been  erected  in  1662  by  Jan  de  Witt,  who  sold  it  two  years  later. 
The  deed  of  sale,  which  still  exists,  says  that  the  mill  was  "under  mortgage 
to  the  West  India  Company,  under  condition,  when  required  to  do  so,  to 
grind  weekly  for  them,  when  there  was  wind,  twenty-five  schepels  of  grain." 
It  was  in  existence  for  nearly  a  century,  and  may  be  found  on  the  city  map 
of  1729.  On  the  summit  of  the  hill  was  a  public  house,  with  a  pleasure 
garden,  known  up  to  the  period  of  the  Revolution  as  Catimuts  Garden. 

The  road  on  the  present  line  of  Park  Row  v/as  in  existence  from  the 
earliest  times,  but  was  so  steep  for  laden  vehicles  as  to  render  a  circuitous 
route  around  the  eastward  boundaries  necessary.  In  1734  an  attempt  was 
made  to  cut  the  hill  down,  but  it  was  abandoned  until  1740,  when  "several 
gentlemen,  at  their  own  expense,  undertook  to  finish  the  street  already  be- 
gun through  the  hill  by  the  windmill."  They  succeeded  only  in  making 
a  road  of  easy  grade  around  the  base  of  the  hill.  In  1756  the  gallows  was 
removed  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  at  what  is  now  City  Hall  Place,  midway 
between  Pearl  and  Duane  streets.  Here  some  of  the  negroes  supposed  to 
have  been  in  the  plot  of  1741  were  burned. 

The  west  side  of  Chatham  street,  from  William  to  Pearl,  and  extending 
east  to  Rose  street,  was  originally  a  part  of  the  city  common  lands, 
and  lay  waste,  used  only  by  lime  and  charcoal  burners,  until  1762,  when 
it  was  surveyed  and  the  lots  leased  for  twenty-one  years.  Soon  after  small 
houses  were  put  up  in  the  vicinity.  About  the  beginning  of  the  last  century 
that  portion  of  the  street  between  Tryon  Row  and  Duane  street  was  fully 
built  up,  one  of  the  leading  business  houses  being  that  of  Peter  and  George 
Lorillard,  tobacconists.  Between  Duane  and  Pearl  streets  were  also  several 
business  places,  dwelling  houses  and  a  large  pottery  belonging  to  one 
George  Crolius.  On  the  opposite,  or  east,  side  of  the  street  the  whole  extent 
to  Pearl  street  was  occupied  by  brick  and  frame  houses,  in  which  were 
stores  and  mechanics'  shops.  On  the  corner  of  Pearl  street  stood  the  Boston 
Stagehouse  and  Livery  Stables,  a  place  of  public  interest,  owned  by  Benja- 
min Powell,  and  afterward  by  James  Tyler,  and  one  block  west  of  Park 
Row  were  several  large  tanneries. 

At  Pearl  and  Roosevelt  streets  was  a  stream  called  the  Fresh  Water 
Killetje,  or  little  creek,  which  crossed  the  highway,  and  was  itself  crossed 
by  a  bridge  on  the  line  of  the  road.  It  formed  for  many  years  the  limits 
separating  the  line  of  city  and  country  in  the  municipal  regulations  of 
early  times.  It  was  originally  the  only  outlet  of  the  large  pond  which  lay 
west  of  Chatham  street,  and  appears  to  have  been  a  considerable  stream. 
In  ancient  deeds  this  stream  is  referred  to  as  the  "ould  kill."  The  bridge 
was  erected  in  1699,  as  the  stream  at  times  was  not  fordable,  and  was 
known  in  Colonial  times  as  the  Kissing  Bridge.  This  appellation  may  be 
found  in  public  records  now  extant,  and  springs  from  an  ancient  custom. 
The  Tea  Water  Spring  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  road  near  the  Kissing 
Bridge. 

It  is  said  there  probably  was  no  spot  having  more  agreeable  associa- 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  169 

tions  in  connection  with  early  habits  and  customs  in  the  city  than  this 
locality.  It  was  romantically  situated  in  the  city  suburbs,  sur- 
rounded by  woods  and  hills  and  near  the  borders  of  a  beautiful  lake,  whose 
refreshing  water  and  agreeable  vicinage  were  sought  by  the  people  of  the 
city.  In  course  of  time,  however,  these  beauties  passed  away  before  the 
march  of  improvement;  the  hills  were  graded,  the  fresh  water  stream  dried 
up,  and  the  famous  bridge  gave  place  to  pavements.  The  Tea  Water  well, 
however,  which  had  been  sunk  later,  was  a  necessity,  and  called  for  the 
making  of  several  city  ordinances  regulating  the  passage  and  standing  of 
the  carts  engaged  in  carrying  it  to  the  people.  In  the  last  half  of  1800  the 
old  well  broke  bounds,  and  it  is  said  its  water  was  used  for  a  time  by  the 
occupant  of  a  liquor  store  in  the  neighborhood. 

A  map  of  175  7  shows  that  streets  around  this  neighborhood  were  laid 
out  and  regulated  before  similar  movements  were  begun  near  what  was  a 
part  of  the  city,  Beekman  street. 

In  the  middle  of  1798  war  murmurs  were  heard.  The  American  envoys 
in  France,  who  had  been  sent  thither  in  1795  to  adjust  the  complications 
which  had  arisen  upon  the  ratification  of  the  Jay  treaty,  and  to  ask  amends 
for  the  seizure  of  American  vessels  by  the  French,  announced  the  failure  of 
their  mission.  They  had  been  informed  that  negotiations  would  remain  in 
abeyance  until  money  was  paid  into  the  French  Treasury,  and  that  the 
penalty  of  refusal  would  be  war.  Congress  at  once  adopted  vigorous  meas- 
ures for  the  raising  of  an  army,  and  Governor  Jay  convened  a  special  ses- 
sion of  the  New  York  Legislature  to  take  measures  for  fortifying  the  harbor 
of  the  city.  The  sum  of  $1,200,000  was  appropriated  for  the  purpose.  On 
June  13  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  citizens  petitioned  the  corporation 
to  fortify  the  city,  and  $50,000  was  appropriated  and  expended  for  that 
purpose.  In  this  year  auction  duties  were  granted  to  the  city  by  the  State 
to  support  foreign  poor,  and  the  first  Street  Commissioner  was  appointed. 

In  1799  Richard  Harrison  became  Recorder,  at  a  salary  of  $500  a  year, 
and  on  March  15  the  old  Exchange,  in  Broad  street,  was  ordered  to  be  taken 
down.  On  July  20  "a  great  riot  occurred  at  the  corner  of  Greenwich  and 
Murray  streets  and  the  military  v/ere  called  out,"  and  nine  days  later  the 
j^ellow  fever  again  paralyzed  the  city.  On  December  16  "a  day  of  thanks- 
giving was  appointed  (the  last  Wednesday  in  December),  the  first  observed 
in  this  city  by  recommendation  of  the  city  authorities  since  the  Revolution." 

Gloom  pervaded  the  city  on  December  20,  when  the  news  arrived 
of  the  death  of  General  Washington,  which  had  occurred  on  the  14th  of 
the  month.  Public  testimonials  of  grief  and  reverence  were  displayed  on 
every  hand,  and  the  corporation  ordered  "the  bells  of  the  various  churches 
to  be  muffled  and  tolled  every  day  from  12  to  1  o'clock  until  the  24th,  and 
that  the  citizens  wear  crape  for  six  weeks."  The  vestry  of  Trinity  Church 
assembled  at  the  house  of  Bishop  Provost  to  give  expression  of  sorrow,  and 
"Ordered,  That  in  consideration  of  the  death  of  the  late  Lieutenant  George 
Washington,  the  several  churches  belonging  to  this  corporation  be  put  in 
mourning." 


1 

FIRST      CITY      HALL       (dUTCH),      OR      STADT      HUYS. 
BUILT    1642,    DEMOLISHED    1699.       ALSO 

A    WAREHOUSE   AND   TAVERN    AT 
71    PEARL    STREET. 


THIRD    AND     PRESENT     CITY     HALL,     IN     "tHE     FIELDS,         NOW     CITY     HALL     PARK;    BEGUN     IN     1803; 

FINISHED     1812. 


SECOND    CITY    HALL    (ENGLISH),    BUILT    1699-1700; 
DEMOLISHED    1834;     SEAT    OF    COLONIAL,    FED- 
ERAL   AND    CITY    GOVERNMENTS,    AT    WALL 
AND     NASSAU     STREETS. 

170 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 


(1800.) 

History  of  City  Hall  Park — A  Few  of  the  Occurrences  There — First  Public 

Building'  Erected  Within  Its  Limits — Building  of 

the  Present  City  Hall. 

Freedom's  Acres  would  be  a  more  appropriate  name  than  City  Hall 
Park  for  the  piece  of  ground  fronting  Printing  House  Square,  as  in  the  old 
days  every  foot  of  it  breathed  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  and  to  it,  in  the  new 
era,  the  citizen  possessed  of  civic  pride  repairs  when  that  patriotism  is 
threatened.  The  history  of  these  few  acres,  which  at  one  time  included  the 
land  on  which  the  present  Postoffice  stands,  is  full  of  local  interest  to  the 
New  Yorker.  Originally  a  portion  of  the  common  lands  granted  to  the  city 
by  its  charter,  its  character  for  many  years  was  that  of  an  open  pasture  or 
cattle  walk.  In  the  time  of  the  Dutch  it  was  known  as  the  Vlacte,  or  Flat, 
and  at  a  later  period  as  the  Commons.  Still  later  it  was  called  the  Fields, 
and  after  its  inclosure  the  Park.  From  an  entry  in  the  city  records  in  1699 
one  would  conclude  that  a  fortification  had  been  erected  near  its  south 
boundaries,  and  that  at  its  northern  limit  was  a  "burial  place  for  ne- 
groes, slave  and  free."  The  negroes  were,  both  in  the  Dutch  and  English 
times,  a  proscribed  race.  Many  of  them  were  native  Africans,  who  had  been 
brought  over  in  slave  ships,  and  who  retained  their  native  superstitions 
and  burial  customs,  among  them  one  of  burying  their  dead  by  night,  with 
various  incantations.  The  locality  appropriated  by  them  for  burial  pur- 
poses was,  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  tov/n,  a  desolate  spot,  descending, 
according  to  a  map  of  the  period,  toward  a  ravine  which  led  to  the  Kalk- 
hook  pond,  and,  though  within  convenient  distance  of  the  city,  still  far 
enough  away  from  it  to  impress  on  them  the  fact  that  they  had  nothing_^in 
common  with  the  whites.  No  consideration  was  given  by  the  authorities  to 
the  use  to  which  this  place  was  devoted,  and  not  even  a  dedication  of  their 
burial  place  was  made  by  the  church  authorities.  Indeed,  in  1673  the 
Dutch  Governor,  Colve,  granted  the  land  to  a  private  citizen,  not  dis- 
tinguishing it  from  vacant  lands.  The  new  owner,  however,  allowed  its 
continued  use  as  a  burial  ground  for  many  years.  It  ran  about  four  hun- 
dred feet  along  the  east  side  of  Broadv/ay,  near  Chambers  street,  and  was 
about  six  hundred  feet  deep. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  city  the  celebrations  of  the  burghers  were 
held  "on  the  plain  before  the  fort,"  but  with  the  inclosure  of  the  Bowling 
Green  a  new  location  was  selected,  and  the  Commons  became  the  rallying 
ground  for  the  people  on  such  anniversary  days  as  the  birthday  of  the  King. 
Coronation  Day,  Gunpowder  Plot  Day,  and  at  other  times  when  the  spirit 

171 


172  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

moved  them  to  celebrate.  Some  years  prior  to  the  Revolution  the  name  "the 
Fields"  was  substituted  for  its  original  name,  without  intent,  apparently, 
and  is  famous  in  the  song  and  story  of  the  city.  From  the  public  character 
of  the  Fields  as  the  place  of  open  air  meetings  and  of  celebrations  sprang 
public  houses,  ball  alleys  and  other  resorts  for  entertainment,  so  that  the 
locality  was  of  considerable  note  in  the  eighteenth  century.  With 
the  birth  of  patriotism  came  its  important  period,  and  during  the  few 
years  preceding  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  public  meetings  of  a  po- 
litical character  were  held  there,  the  results  of  which  thundered  around  the 
world.  Here  are  a  few  of  the  things  which  occurred  on  or  near  the  spot 
which  hundreds  of  thousands  of  New  Yorkers  cross  every  day:" 

"1764 — Seizure  of  a  press  gang's  boat  by  a  mob,  which  carried  it  to  the 
Common  and  burned  it. 

"November  1,  1765 — First  popular  meeting  on  the  Commons  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  Stamp  Act;  a  gallows  was  erected,  and  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
burned  in  effigy. 

"November  2,  1765 — Another  popular  meeting  on  the  Commons,  held 
with  a  view  to  seize  the  stamps;  action  deferred. 

"1765-'66 — Other  meetings  of  similar  character  until  repeal  of  Stamp 
Act,  in  March,  1766. 

"June  4,  1766 — Meeting  on  the  Commons  to  celebrate  the  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act.  A  flag  staff  erected  on  the  occasion  inscribed  'King,  Pitt  and 
Liberty.'  An  ox  roasted,  and  twenty-five  barrels  of  ale,  with  a  hogshead  of 
rum  punch,  consumed  on  the  occasion. 

"August  10,  1766 — A  party  of  soldiers  from  the  barracks  along  Cham- 
bers street  cut  down  the  pole  erected  in  June. 

"August  11,  1766 — Meeting  held  on  the  Commons  to  raise  another 
pole.  The  people  were  attacked  by  the  soldiers,  and  several  were  wounded. 
A  few  days  after,  however,  another  pole  was  raised. 

"September  23,  1766 — The  second  pole  was  cut  dov/n  by  persons  un- 
known.    Within  two  days  a  third  pole  was  erected. 

"March  IS,   1767 — The  third  pole  was  destroyed. 

"March  19,  1767 — A  fourth  pole  erected  and  secured  by  braces  and  iron 
bands,  and  a  watch  set  to  guard  it. 

"March  21,  1767 — An  attempt  renevv^ed  by  the  soldiers  to  destroy  the 
pole,  but  they  were  repulsed  by  the  citizens. 

"December  17,  1767 — Meeting  held  in  opposition  to  the  Mutiny  Act. 

"January  13,  1770 — The  liberty  pole  again  assailed  by  the  soldiers, 
who  were  repulsed. 

"January  16,  1770 — Another  attempt  made  on  the  pole,  which  was 
successful.  It  was  sawed  up  and  piled  in  front  of  Montagnie's  door  (the 
headquarters  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty),  in  Broadway. 

"January  17,  1770 — Meeting  of  upward  of  three  thousand  citizens  on 
the  Commons.  Another  liberty  pole  soon  after  erected,  strongly  ironed,  and 
surmounted  with  a  topmast  and  vane,  on  the  latter  of  which  the  word 
'Liberty'  in  large  letters  was  conspicuous. 

"March  26,  1770 — A  party  of  soldiers  attempted  to  unship  the  top- 
mast; a  contest  ensued  between  them  and  the  citizens,  without  fatal  results. 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    XEW     YORK.  173 

"May  10,  1770 — Meeting  in  opposition  to  the  importation  of  British 
goods. 

"June,  1770 — A  quantity  of  British  goods  seized  by  the  Sons  of  Lib- 
erty and  burned  on  the  Commons. 

"July  6,  1774 — Great  meeting  in  opposition  to  the  act  of  Parliament 
called  the  Boston  Port  act.  At  this  meeting  Alexander  Hamilton,  then  sev- 
enteen years  old,  first  appeared  as  a  public  speaker. 

"1775 — Various  meetings  on  the  all  absorbing  public  affairs.  The 
affair  at  Concord  and  the  Battle  of  Lexington  occurred,  and  the  people 
began  vigorously  to  prepare  for  momentous  events. 

"July  9,  1776 — The  Declaration  of  Independence  published  to  the 
troops  paraded  on  the  Commons  at  6  o'clock  in  the  evening.  A  hollow 
square  was  formed  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Commons,  in  which  was  General 
Washington  on  horseback.  The  Declaration  was  read  by  one  of  his  aids. 
At  its  conclusion  three  hearty  cheers  were  given. 

"1776 — Cunningham,  the  British  Provost  Marshal,  had  the  liberty  pole 
cut  down." 

After  the  Revolution,  when  the  city  had  recovered  itself,  the  locality 
of  the  Fields  began  to  show  progress.  Broadway  was  assuming  the  char- 
acter of  a  fashionable  place  of  residence,  and  it  was  meet  that  the  roving 
spirit  of  the  cattle  of  the  citizens  should  be  curbed,  especially  when  it  took 
them  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Fields.  Many  protests  were  raised  against 
what  was  considered  spoliation  of  the  green  when  improvements,  which  in- 
cluded the  fencing  of  it,  were  spoken  of.  The  cattle  should  be  allowed  to  rove 
at  large  upon  it,  the  people  thought.  The  improvements  were  made,  how- 
ever, and  a  post  and  rail  fence  was  put  around  the  sacred  ground  in  1785, 
transforming  it  into  a  park,  which,  it  is  hoped,  it  will  always  continue  to  be, 
and  leaving  its  ancient  titles  in  the  minds  of  the  lovers  of  the  history  of 
the  city  as  synonymes  for  patriotism  and  liberty.  It  was  not  long,  however, 
before  the  post  and  rail  fence  gave  place  to  wooden  palings,  which  remained 
for  a  score  of  years,  and  finally  in  1816  these  were  succeeded  by  an  iron 
railing,  which  was  set  with  due  ceremony  and  public  commemoration  of  the 
event. 

The  first  public  buildings  erected  within  the  limits  of  the  Park  were 
a  poorhouse,  in  1736,  on  the  site  of  the  present  City  Hall,  and  in 
Colonial  times  a  jail  and  a  bridewell,  with  graveyards  inclosed  near 
by.  These  three  were  the  prominent  buildings  in  the  Park  at  the  time  of 
the  Revolution,  though  other  strurtures  stood  in  the  vicinity  of  Chambers 
and  Chatham  streets,  erected  at  different  times  as  soldiers'  barracks.  They 
were  rude  affairs,  one  story  high,  and  built  of  logs.  A  few,  built  in  the  time 
of  the  "old  French  war,"  remained  in  a  ruinous  condition  for  many  years 
after  the  close  of  that  war,  and,  it  is  said,  were  now  and  then  tenanted  by 
families  of  roving  Indians,  who  hovered  around  the  abodes  of  civilization, 
living  by  the  sale  of  baskets  and  beadwork.  The  poorhouse  of  1736  was 
found  to  be  inadequate  a  half  century  later,  and  a  new  one  was  erected 
extending  along  the  north  side  of  the  park  and  fronting  on  Chambers  street. 
It  soon  became  manifest  to  citizens  that  this  almshouse  was  not  appropri- 
ately located,  and  in  1810  a  site  of  seven  acres  at  Bellevue  was  purchased 
and  the  erection  of  a  new  structure  vv-as  begun,  which  was  ready  for  occu- 


174  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    SEW     YORK. 

pancy  in  1812.  The  old  building  was  transformed  by  the  city  authorities 
into  the  New  York  Institution,  with  the  design  of  encouraging  several  enter- 
prises of  a  public  character  which  had  recently  been  started.  Some  of  these 
so-called  enterprises  are  at  the  present  time  the  noblest  institutions  of  the 
city.  The  New  York  Historical  Society  was  located  there;  so  also  were  the 
Academy  of  Arts  and  the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History.  In  1818  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb  Institute  opened  its  school  in  the  New  York  Institution  with  four 
pupils,  and  at  various  periods  an  Academy  of  Painting,  the  First  Bank 
for  Savings,  the  Lyceum,  Scudder's  American  Museum,  the  American  Insti- 
tute and  other  public  institutions  occupied  parts  of  the  building. 

In  1802  a  new  City  Hall  (the  present  one)  was  designed,  to  cost 
$25,000,  and  a  premium  was  offered  for  the  best  plan,  which  was  subse- 
quently awarded  to  Macomb  &  Mangin.  "Much  doubt  was  expressed  as  to 
the  character  of  building  which  could  be  erected  for  so  small  a  sum,  and 
after  hesitating  for  a  time  as  to  the  expense  the  sum  of  $250,000  was  finally 
voted,  and  contracts  were  entered  into."  The  foundation-stone  was  laid  on 
the  site  of  the  first  poorhouse  on  September  20,  1803,  by  Mayor  Edward  Liv- 
ingston and  by  the  Corporation,  but  it  was  July  4,  1810,  before  the  latter 
first  met  in  the  building,  in  the  Mayor's  office,  and  not  until  1812  was  it 
fully  completed. 

At  various  times  ^n  the  old  days,  as  in  tne  new,  the  eye  of  the  poli- 
tician has  rested  greedily  on  City  Hall  Park.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  to  erect  a  City  Hospital 
near  the  old  bridewell,  and  land  was  voted  by  the  corporation  for  the  pur- 
pose, but  the  public  voice  was  raised  in  protestation,  and  the  scheme  was 
abandoned.  At  another  time  it  was  proposed  to  erect  a  reservoir  in  it  for 
supplying  the  city  with  water  to  be  brought  from  The  Bronx,  but  this 
project  also  fell  through.  A  short  time  ago  the  latter-day  politician  at- 
tempted to  confiscate  for  alleged  public  purposes  this  historic  spot,  but  the 
ever  watchful  press  silenced,  it  is  hoped  forever,  any  further  attempts  to 
despoil  it. 

The  twilight  of  the  eighteenth  century  saw  New  York  City  plunged 
in  mourning  over  the  death  of  General  Washington.  On  December  26  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  had  taken  steps  to  honor  the  dead  patriot,  and  every 
other  society  and  association  in  the  city  had  joined  with  it.  The  last  day 
of  the  year  was  fixed  for  the  ceremonies,  and  in  the  forenoon  a  funeral 
procession  wound  along  the  streets  on  its  way  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  com- 
posed of  civic  and  military  dignitaries,  with  mounted  troops  and  infantry 
and  artillery,  members  of  social,  political  and  national  associations,  repre- 
sentatives of  banks  and  other  financial  institutions.  Regents  of  the  Uni- 
versity, the  trustees  of  Columbia  College,  members  of  the  bar,  ministers  of 
religious  denominatiorre,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  State  and  the 
foreign  consuls  in  the  city.  In  the  place  of  honor  was  Major  General  Ham- 
ilton, with  his  suite.  Immediately  preceding  the  funeral  urn,  which  was 
carried  upon  a  bier,  in  the  form  of  a  palanquin,  supported  by  eight  soldiers, 
v/ere  twenty-four  girls  in  white  dresses.  A  horse,  caparisoned  in  mourning, 
was  led  behind  the  bier.  The  members  of  the  Cincinnati  followed  as  chief 
mourners,  with  the  corporation  of  the  city  behind  them.  On  arriving  at  the 
a-iurch  Bishop  Provost  read  the  office  for  the  dead,  and  Gouverneur  Morris 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    XEJV     YORK. 


175 


delivered  the  eulogy.  It  was  at  the  services  held  on  February  22,  1800,  in 
the  Dutch  Church  in  Nassau  street,  that  Dr.  William  Linn,  one  of  the 
pastors  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed  Church,  said:  "That  calumny  which  has 
sought  to  tarnish  the  fame  of  Washington  will  soon  become  dumb,  and  his 
name  will  be  revered  until  the  fashion  of  this  world  has  wholly  passed 
away." 


Jfi' _*'"'■-  TtPS^ 


BOWLING    ON    ROTVT.TNG    GKKiDiN. 
(Dutch  Period.) 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 


(1800.;> 

Lower  Broadway — Its  Position  as  a  Residential  Neighborhood — Places  of 

Historic  Interest — Some  of  Its  Residents — Oyster  Pasty  Alley — 

Bowling  Green  Inclosed — The  City  at  the  Century's  Dawn. 

It  requires  considerable  imagination  on  the  part  of  the  New  Yorker  of 
the  twentieth  century  to  remove  the  cloud  capped  buildings  of  lower  Broad- 
way and  substitute  therefor  the  silent  solitudes  of  tangled  forests,  weedy 
creeks  and  sluggish  ponds  which  were  there  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Yet 
such  was  the  place  early  in  the  Dutch  occupation,  except  that  here  and 
there  was  a  furrowed  field  or  rolling  pasture.  With  the  arrival  of  Van 
Twiller  in  1633  this  portion  of  the  island  was  divided  into  farms,  carefully 
measured  and  numbered,  to  which  the  name  known  to  every  one  was  given 
— bouweries  (land  to  be  cultivated).  There  were  six  of  these  bouweries. 
The  first  included  the  ground  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway,  between  Wall 
and  Chambers  streets;  the  second,  fourth  and  sixth  included  the  ground  on 
the  east  side  of  the  same  thoroughfare  up  to  City  Hall  Park;  the  third  and 
fifth  comprised  the  territory  north  of  Chambers  street  and  west  of  Broad 
v/ay  up  to  the  borders  of  what  later  became  Greenwich  Village.  South  of 
all  these  tracts  of  land  was  the  "Company's  Garden,"  stretching  from  the 
fort  to  Wall  street  on  the  west  of  Broadway.  It  is  of  this  section  we  will 
treat,  but  particvilarly  of  the  part  surrounding  Bowling  Green. 

In  the  times  of  the  Dutch  the  first  section  of  this  world  known  thor- 
oughfare was  laid  out  as  far  north  as  Wall  street.  It  was  next  extended  to 
the  park,  and  it  may  be  said  that  it  took  nearly  a  century  before  it  was  built 
up  to  that  point.  About  the  time  of  the  Revolution  its  development  had 
reached  Duane  street,  and  toward  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
it  was  opened  as  far  as  the  Meadows,  or  Canal  street.  In  the  first  quarter 
of  the  century  it  had  crept  to  Astor  Place,  and  then  to  the  "Tulip  Tree," 
above  the  present  Union  Square.  With  rapid  strides  it  afterward  advanced 
to  its  present  extent. 

That  section  of  Broadway  which  faces  the  Bowling  Green  from  the  west 
was  a  popular  part  of  New  Amsterdam.  It  was  the  court  end  of  the  town, 
for  here  was  the  Parade  in  front,  which  also  served  as  the  market  place, 
with  the  fort  on  one  side,  two  leading  popular  taverns,  a  fashionable  store, 
the  residence  of  the  provincial  secretary  and  the  home  of  the  Dominie, 
Megapolensis,  on  the  southerly  corner  of  the  present  Morris  street.  The 
buildings  in  the  neighborhood  were  substantial  two  story  affairs,  with  two 
to  four  chimneys  in  each.  Some  of  them  were  built  of  brick  and  stood  the 
ravages  of  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  of  time.     On  the  westerly  side  of 

176 


CRADLE    DAYS     OP    XEIV     YORK.  177 

Broadway,  north  of  the  Parade  and  near  the  present  Morris  street,  vvere 
four  small  buildings,  and  adjoining  them  the  first  burial  ground  established 
in  the  city,  which  ran  along  Broadway  for  nearly  two  hundred  feet.  North 
of  the  burial  ground  were  several  residences,  with  large  gardens  and  or- 
chards attached,  which  extended  to  the  shore  of  the  river.  In  one  of  these 
lived  Burgomaster  Vandiegrist,  and  after  him  other  chief  magistrates  of  the 
city,  the  last  one  Mayor  Johnston,  in  1715.  Further  north  was  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Schout-Fiscal,  Van  Dyck,  and  adjacent  to  it  an  orchard  and  a 
garden  in  which  vegetables  were  raised  for  the  use  of  the  public  oflicials, 
and  which  afterward  became  a  burial  ground.  Crossing  this  garden  diagon- 
ally toward  the  river  shore  was  the  city  wall,  or  palisades,  erected  in  1653. 

A  different  condition  of  affairs  existed  on  the  east  side  of  Broadway 
during  the  Dutch  times.  Though  it  became  thickly  populated,  the  buildings 
were  of  an  inferior  character,  some  of  them  mere  hovels,  with  not  more  than 
one  room  and  a  fireplace.  The  lots  attached  extended  back  nearly  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  to  the  marsh  along  Broad  street,  but  that  portion  front- 
ing on  Broadway  was  used  for  gardening  purposes.  At  this  period  it  was 
known  as  the  "Heere-straat." 

In  1664,  when  the  English  acquired  the  country,  and  when  an  attempt 
was  made  to  obliterate  everything  with  a  Dutch  derivative,  the  present 
name  was  adopted,  and  shortly  afterward  the  middle  of  the  street  was 
paved  with  pebble  stones,  and  the  inhabitants  were  permitted  to  plant  trees 
in  front  of  their  grounds.     In  1707  the  sidewalks  were  paved. 

Many  places  of  historic  interest  clustered  around  the  street  facing 
the  Bowling  Green.  No.  1  Broadway  was  the  site  of  the  tavern  of  Mrs. 
Kocks  (originally  erected  by  her  husband,  Peter  Kocks,  an  officer  in  the 
Dutch  service),  and  afterward  of  a  building  which  in  colonial  times  was  the 
seat  of  the  highest  fashion  in  the  colony.  During  the  Revolution  it  was 
the  headquarters  of  the  British  General,  Clinton,  and  at  various  periods  it 
was  occupied  by  leading  citizens.  It  afterward  became  the  Kennedy  House, 
taking  its  name  from  its  owner,  a  former  Collector  of  the  Port.  The  "King's 
Arms,"  or,  as  it  was  known  at  one  period  of  the  colonial  times,  Burns's 
Coffee  House,  stood  at  what  is  now  No.  11  Broadway,  on  the  site  of  Burgo- 
master Crigier's  tavern.  It  was  quite  a  place  of  amusement  in  the  old  days, 
when  musical  entertainments  were  given  in  the  large  garden  attached  to  it. 
During  the  British  possession  it  was  a  sort  of  lodging  house,  and  became 
afterward  the  Atlantic  Garden,  a  name  which  it  bore  to  1861  or  1862,  when 
it  was  torn  down  and  the  ground  used  by  one  of  the  city  railroad  com- 
panies. The  parsonage  of  Dominie  Megapolensis  became  the  property  i.nd 
residence  of  Balthazar  Bayard,  who  erected  a  brewery  on  the  premises,  near 
the  river  shore,  access  to  which  was  by  a  lane  on  the  present  line  of  Morris 
street.     After  his  death  the  heirs  sold  the  property  to  Augustus  Jay. 

Among  the  noted  people  of  New  York  who  lived  on  Broadway  opposite 
the  Bowling  Green  in  colonial  times  were  members  of  the  Livingston,  Ver- 
planck  and  Van  Cortlandt  families,  and  up  to  nearly  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  its  ante-colonial  appearance  was  preserved,  as  it  had  escaped  in  the 
great  fire  of  1776,  when  other  houses  in  the  vicinity  were  burned.  Before 
the  beginning  of  the  last  century  the  following  were  residents  of  the  block: 
No.  1,  Mrs.  Loring;  No.  3,  John  Watts;  No.  5,  Chancellor  Livingston;  No.  7, 


178  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

John  Stevens;  No.  9,  Elizabeth  Van  Cortlandt;  No.  13,  Mary  Ellison.  No.  11 
was  the  Atlantic  Garden. 

Little  is  known  of  the  appearance  of  Broadway  abo-e  Morris  street  in 
the  English  colonial  times,  as  every  vestige  of  its  former  appearance  was 
obliterated  by  the  fire  of  1776.  It  was  a  fashionable  quarter  of  the  town, 
however,  and  in  it  was  the  residence  of  Governor  Clarke,  on  the  west  side 
of  the  street,  south  of  Exchange  Place,  which  in  the  English  period  was 
known  as  "Oyster  Pasty  Alley,"  and  was  a  path  leading  to  a  small  redoubt 
connected  with  the  city  fortifications. 

In  1785  the  temporary  structures  erected  in  Broadway  after  the  fire 
were  still  standing,  and  it  was  only  a  short  time  after  this  date  that  the 
street  took  on  again  its  previous  semblance  of  a  select  locality.  In  1790  the 
frame  buildings  Nos.  37  to  73  were  demolished  and  elegant  private 
residences  were  built  in  their  stead,  which  were  owned  and  occupied  by 
leading  citizens,  one  of  them  as  the  Presidential  mansion  of  General  Wash- 
ington. In  1830  four  of  these  residences  were  converted  into  a  hotel  known 
as  Bunker's  Mansion  House,  a  hostelry  of  considerable  importance,  "possess- 
ing much  of  the  retirement  and  quiet  of  an  elegant  private  residence." 
Here  are  the  names  of  a  few  prominent  citizens  who  occupied  these  build- 
ings previous  to  1855:  No.  37,  Brockholst  Livingston;  No.  43,  Edward  Liv- 
ingston; No.  47,  Alexander  McComb;  No.  59,  Jacob  Morton;  No.  61,  Isaac 
Clason,  and  No.  67,  John  R.  Livingston. 

The  prejudices  of  the  Dutch  to  the  east  side  of  Broadway  below  Wall 
street  seem  to  have  been  handed  down  to  their  successors.  For  many  years 
after  the  English  came  into  possession  of  the  city  the  principal  building 
erected  below  Exchange  Place  was  a  tavern,  and  the  prices  paid  between 
1725  and  1750  for  property  in  the  locality  are  further  evidences  of  the  infe- 
rior position  it  held  in  the  investment  field.  In  1725  one  house  and  lot,  31 
feet  front  and  60  feet  deep,  were  sold  for  £100.  In  1737  a  house  and  lot  34 
feet  by  75,  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and  Exchange  Place, 
brought  £95.  In  1750  a  house  and  lot,  24  by  80  feet,  were  bought  for  £201. 
The  houses,  of  course,  were  mostly  frame  structures,  and  the  locality  was  not 
distinguished  above  the  more  retired  parts  of  the  city  as  a  place  either  of 
business  or  residence. 

The  improvements  on  the  v/est  side  of  Broadway  below  Wall  street 
began  about  1790,  when  first  class  buildings  took  the  place  of  the  temporary 
one  and  two  story  structures  that  had  stood  there.  Toward  the  close  of 
1800  the  following  were  occupants  of  the  new  buildings:  No.  16,  George 
Scriber;  No.  24,  Nicholas  Low;  No.  23,  Alexander  Hamilton;  No.  30,  John 
Delafield;  No.  34,  Dr.  Charlton;  No.  36,  Peter  Jay  Munro;  No.  44,  Robert 
Troup;  No.  66,  Herman  Le  Roy;  No.  68,  Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman,  and  No.  70, 
Cadwallader  Colden.  Governor  Jay  in  after  years  erected  in  this  vicinity 
a  large  stone  house,  then  considered  a  great  ornament  to  the  street. 

An  authority  says:  "In  respect  to  the  general  topography  of  Broadway 
below  Wall  street  it  was  found  that  the  original  surface  was  followed  in  the 
first  buildings  on  the  street,  and  that  there  were  no  alterations  of  the  grade 
until  a  period  shortly  subsequent  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  occasion 
of  an  alteration  of  the  original  grade  arose  apparently  from  the  incon- 
venience of  carrying  off  the  surface  water.     In   1786  a  surveyor  appointed 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEIV     YORK.  179 

for  the  purpose  reported  a  plan,  by  making  the  street  descend  from  Wall 
street  to  Verlettenberg  (now  Exchange  Place),  at  which  latter  point  the 
street  was  to  be  lowered  three  feet;  and  so,  ^Iso,  below  Verlettenberg,  a  sim- 
ilar descending  grade  was  to  be  established  157  feet  south,  thus  bringing 
the  water  from  both  directions  to  Verlettenberg  hill,  thence  to  flow  down 
to  Broad  street.  The  residents  objected  to  the  adoption  of  this  plan,  and 
the  permanent  grade  was  established  by  lowering  the  hill  near  the  Bowling 
Green  to  an  extent  which  afforded  a  gradual  descent." 

In  1732  Bowling  Green  was  inclosed,  "with  v/alks  therein,  for  the 
beauty  and  ornament  of  the  city  and  the  recreation  and  delight  of  the  in- 
habitants thereof." 

In  1806  an  order  was  made  removing  the  old  wells  and  pumps,  several 
of  which  stood  in  the  middle  of  Broadway,  and  establishing  others  at  the 
sidewalks.     They  had  been  in  existence  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  years. 

Very  little  of  note  seems  to  have  occurred  in  New  York  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1800.  As  now,  she  was  the  metropolis  of  the  Western 
world,  though  only  a  village  compared  with  her  magnificent  proportions  of 
to-day.  The  city  proper  was  bounded  on  Broadway  by  Anthony  (Worth) 
street,  on  the  North  River  by  Harrison  street,  and  on  the  East  River  by 
Rutgers  street.  Within  these  limits  the  houses  were  scattered  and  sur- 
rounded by  large  gardens  and  vacant  lots.  Bowery  Lane's  farmer  population 
extended  as  far  as  Broome  street,  with  fields  and  orchards  reaching  out  on 
either  side  from  river  to  river.  From  the  Battery  to  Cedar  street  the  river 
front  street  was  Greenwich.  At  Cedar  Washington  street  had  begun,  and 
v/as  partly  built  on  one  side  to  Harrison  street,  where  it  terminated  abruptly 
in  the  river.  "Above  Broadway,"  says  the  record,  "was  a  hilly  country, 
sloping  on  the  east  to  the  Fresh  Water  Pond,  not  yet  quite  filled  in  from 
the  surrounding  hills,  and  descending  on  the  west  to  Lispenard  Meadows, 
near  Canal  street."  Of  the  leveling  of  the  high  hill  at  the  junction  of 
Broadway  and  Worth  street  mention  was  made  in  a  previous  chapter.  Above 
the  arched  bridge  in  the  valley  at  Canal  street,  another  high  hill  rose,  fall- 
ing off  abruptly  to  a  pond  in  the  space  between  Broome  and  Spring  streets, 
through  which  Broadway  was  filled  up  and  prolonged.  At  Astor  Place, 
where  Broadway  ended,  a  fence  across  the  read  denoted  the  southern  boun- 
dary of  the  Randall  Farm,  afterward  the  endowment  of  the  Sailor's  Snug 
Harbor.  The  Boston  Post  Road  ran  eastward  from  Madison  Square  along 
the  Rose  Hill  Farm,  which  prior  to  the  Revolution  was  the  property  of  John 
Watts,  and  covered  twenty-five  blocks  of  ground  in  what  was  then  the 
Eighteenth  Ward.  By  a  circuitous  route  it  wound  its  way  to  Harlem.  The 
Bloomingdale  Road,  which  was  a  continuation  of  the  Bowery  Lane,  formed 
a  junction  with  two  roads,  the  Fitzroy  and  Southampton,  and  extended  to 
Kingsbridge  by  way  of  McGowan's  Pass  and  Manhattanville,  and  then  con- 
tinued to  Albany.  Love  Lane,  now  Twenty-first  street,  ran  westward  to  the 
North  River  from  the  Bloomingdale  Road. 


CHAPTER   XXXVn. 


(1800.) 

History  of  Wall  Street — Speculative  Instinct  of  Our  Forefathers — Erection 

of  First  Presbyterian  Church — Coffee  House — The  Bank 

of  New  York — Comparative  Values. 

Few  persons,  if  asked  where  The  Cingel  was  in  old  New  York,  would 
answer  Wall  street.  Yet  that  was  the  common  Dutch  name  of  the  principal 
financial  thoroughfare  of  the  present  day.  It  signified  "ramparts"  in  the 
language  of  the  first  settlers.  What  an  interesting  and  curious  history 
surrounds  this  mart  of  finance  of  the  Western  continent,  where  Mammon 
reigns  uncurbed! 

The  purchasers  of  the  island  of  Manhattan,  according  to  a  Dutch  his- 
torian, were  liberal  in  allotting  to  settlers  suitable  parcels  of  land  for  their 
habitations,  gardens  and  farms,  but  below  the  present  Wall  street  no  con- 
siderable tract  for  farming  purposes  was  granted.  This  part  was  appropri- 
ated to  the  city  proper.  When  occasion  offered  for  the  establishing  of  some 
small  business  to  enhance  the  comfort  of  the  settlers,  and  the  applicant  for 
land  could  guarantee  to  improve  it,  a  suitable  plot  was  given  to  him  within 
the  so-called  city  limits,  but  he  had  to  live  up  to  his  contract  in  order  to 
hold  it.  For  twenty-five  years  these  building  sites  were  confined  to  a  few 
lanes  or  thoroughfares  adjacent  to  the  fort  on  the  south  point  of  the  island 
and  along  the  East  River,  in  the  same  vicinity,  the  ungranted  land  lying 
in  common,  under  the  name  of  T'Schaape  Waytie,  or  Sheep  Pasture,  with 
boundaries  according  to  the  present  streets  as  follows:  New  street,  on  the 
west;  Beaver  street,  from  New  to  William,  on  the  south;  William,  from 
Beaver  to  Wall,  on  the  east,  and  Wall,  from  William  to  New,  on  the  north. 
Its  extent  was  about  fifteen  acres.  This  parcel  of  land  was  reserved  for 
many  years  as  pasturage,  even  after  the  growth  of  the  settlement  fore- 
shadowed its  appropriation  for  improvement  purposes. 

During  the  administration  of  Governor  Stuyvesant  the  Sheep  Pasture 
began  to  lose  its  identity  as  such.  Along  the  line  of  the  present  Broad  street 
tanneries  were  established,  which  took  in  the  meadow  land  of  swampy  char- 
acter, and  to  persons  of  influence  was  granted  the  remaining  ground.  To 
Dominie  Driscius  was  given  the  lion's  share,  apparently,  for  it  was  a  great 
part  of  the  northerly  portion,  extending  along  the  line  of  Wall  street  and 
from  the  present  line  of  New  street  to  William  street.  It  lay  "south  of  the 
land  of  Jan  Jansen  Damen,  which  ran  parallel  with  the  present  northerly 
line  of  Wall  street,  from  Bi'oadway  to  William  street,  and  formed  an  oblong 
projection  extending  along  the  easterly  bounds  of  the  present  William 
street,  to  near  Beaver  street,  then  eastward  some  distance  along  the  latter, 

i8o 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  i8i 

and  then  along  the  rear  of  the  company's  gardens,  fronting  on  the  present 
Pearl  street  as  far  as  Maiden  Lane."  The  original  grantee  of  the  land 
through  which  Wall  street  runs  was  Cornells  Groesens,  one  of  the  early- 
settlers.  These  persons,  therefore,  were  the  original  grantees  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  land  in  which  is  comprised  the  present  financial  district  of  the 
city. 

The  entire  year  of  1646  found  Governor  Kieft,  the  predecessor  of  Stuy- 
vesant,  much  harassed  by  what  he  styled  the  "impudent  encroachments"  of 
the  New  Englanders,  and  by  diflflculties  with  the  Swedes  on  the  Delaware 
River.  The  advent  of  Stuyvesant  the  following  year  did  not  seem  to  lessen 
these  difiiculties,  but  brought  on  others.  The  Indians  exhibited  signs  of  un- 
easiness, because  their  promised  presents  were  in  arrears,  and  they  de- 
manded, too,  firearms  of  the  Dutch.  As  for  the  people  of  New  England,  they 
were  growing  stronger  in  numbers,  and  were  disposed  to  take,  without  much 
regard  for  technical  rights,  what  territory  their  progress  required.  On 
February  26,  1653,  Stuyvesant  learned  that  military  preparations  were 
going  on  in  New  England  to  force  the  city  to  yield  in  the  so-called  boundary 
dispute  or  to  end  it  by  an  attack  upon  the  capital  of  the  Dutch  province.  He 
called  a  joint  meeting  of  the  Council  and  City  Fathers,  and  they  resolved  to 
erect  a  line  of  defences  along  the  suburbs,  extending  from  the  North  to  the 
East  River.  About  forty  of  the  principal  men  of  New  Amsterdam  subscribed 
a  loan  of  $2,000  to  prepare  the  city  for  the  siege.  The  fence  which  Kieft 
had  built  across  the  island  for  the  protection  of  the  cattle  still  remained, 
and  it  was  decided  to  inclose  the  city  by  a  ditch  and  palisades,  with  a  breast- 
work, on  about  the  same  line.  Proposals  for  the  construction  of  the  work 
were  issued  in  March,  1653,  and  by  May  1  the  defence  wall  was  completed, 
with  a  ditch  two  feet  wide  and  three  feet  deep  dug  on  the  inside,  and  the 
dirt  thrown  up  against  the  fence  to  make  a  platform  sufficiently  high  to 
permit  the  assailed  to  overlook  the  stockade.  The  whole  length  of  the  work 
from  river  to  river  was  2,340  feet.  During  the  whole  summer  the  citizens 
remained  under  arms,  expecting  an  attack,  but,  while  war  upon  the  Dutch 
colonists  was  actually  in  contemplation  in  New  England,  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts  refused  to  sanction  any  invasion  of  the  Dutch  territory. 

In  1656  it  was  resolved  "to  erect  a  large  and  suitable  gate  at  the  wall 
near  the  East  River,  according  to  the  plan  of  Captain  Coninck,"  an  officer  in 
the  service  of  the  company  than  stationed  in  New  Amsterdam.  This  struc- 
ture crossed  the  present  Pearl  street  at  its  junction  with  Wall  street,  and 
was  known  in  its  time  as  "T'Water  Poort,"  or  the  Water  Gate,  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  one  situated  in  Broadv/ay  and  known  as  the  "Land  Gate."  At 
the  same  time  the  East  River  shore  in  the  vicinity  was  first  improved  by 
the  construction  along  its  natural  shore  at  high  water  mark  of  a  wharfi 
elongated  about  fifty  feet,  so  that  ships,  which  usually  sent  their  cargoes  on 
shore  in  scows,  could  deliver  at  the  wharf.  The  wall  was,  nevertheless,  kept 
in  tolerable  repair  for  some  years,  and  when  the  Dutch  Captain  Colve  recap- 
tured the  city  from  the  English  in  1673  it  was  added  to  and  strengthened 
materially.  Soon  after  its  completion  buildings  were  erected  along  the 
southern  line  of  the  street,  but  they  were  humble  affairs,  and  mostly  tap- 
rooms or  beershops. 

The  speculative   instinct  seems  to  have  entered   materially  into  the 


i82  CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK. 

erection  ^f  this  wall  across  the  island,  or  perhaps  was  a  consequence  of  it,  for 
investigation  reveals  that  the  first  considerable  plot  of  land  divided  into 
parcels  and  offered  at  public  sale  in  this  city  was  the  Jan  Jansen  Damen 
farm,  before  spoken  of,  which  fronted  300  feet  on  Wall  street,  from  William 
to  Pearl,  ran  260  feet  along  the  present  William  street,  320  feet  easterly, 
nearly  along  the  present  Beaver  street,  and  thence  to  Wall  street,  one  hun- 
dred feet  of  it  covering  the  site  of  the  old  Custom  House.  Damen  at  the  time 
this  plot  was  sold  in  1656  to  Jacob  Flodder,  of  Fort  Orange  (Albany),  was 
dead.  The  purchaser  divided  it  into  parcels  with  a  frontage  of  thirty  feet, 
and  extending  generally  to  the  depth  of  the  plot,  and  sold  them,  one  of  the 
buyers  being  Jacob  Jansen  Moesman,  a  merchant  trader,  who  on  his  lot, 
30  feet  front  and  200  feet  deep  (a  portion  of  it  being  the  site  of  the  old 
Custom  House),  erected  a  building  which  was  considered  the  best  in  the 
street.  Soon  after  this  sale  improvements  in  the  vicinity  were  begun,  and 
among  these  so-called  improvements  in  1664  were  the  following:  A  shanty 
belonging  to  Dirck,  the  wool-spinner;  a  shanty  belonging  to  Grietze,  the 
chimney  sweep;  a  taproom  belonging  to  Jan  Tunison;  a  general  store  belong- 
ing to  Jacob  Jansen  Moesman  and  a  small  building  belonging  to  Dirck  Van 
Clyff. 

Another  interesting  example  of  the  speculative  instinct  of  our  fore- 
fathers may  be  mentioned.  When  the  wall  was  built  it  was  thought  neces- 
sary to  have  a  space  of  about  one  hundred  feet  between  it  and  the  line  of 
buildings  within  and  parallel  to  it,  for  the  evolutions  of  troops  and  other 
purposes  not  mentioned  in  the  old  documents.  This  space  during  the  time 
of  Governor  Dongan,  when  it  was  contemplated  that  the  wall  would  have 
to  be  demolished,  was  found  to  be  of  insufficient  width  for  a  street,  and  it 
seems  he  appropriated  about  forty  feet  within  the  ramparts  for  his  own  use, 
Captain  Knight,  one  of  his  subordinates,  purchasing  from  the  Damen  heirs 
nearly  one  thousand  feet  frontage,  with  a  depth  of  128  feet.  This  land  soon 
after  1685  became  the  property  of  the  Governor,  and  was  sold  by  him  in 
1689  to  Abraham  De  Peyster  and  Nicholas  Bayard.  Preliminary  to  this  sale, 
the  survey  of  the  line  proposed  to  be  established  on  the  north  side  of  Wall 
street,  leaving  the  street  thirty-six  feet  wide,  was  ordered  in  1685. 

In  1688  Dongan  determined  to  enlarge  the  city,  and  ordered  an  exami- 
nation of  the  wall  for  the  purpose  of  placing  it  further  out.  It  was  reported 
to  him  that  "the  Water  Gate  was  completely  decayed  and  had  fallen  down; 
that  the  Artillery  Mount  (on  what  is  now  the  northwest  corner  of  Wall 
and  William  streets)  was  in  a  state  of  decay;  that  the  curtain  palisades  be- 
tween the  Artillery  and  the  Land  Gate  Mount  (between  the  present  William 
street  and  Broadway)  were  in  ruins,  and  the  gate  across  Broadway  was 
ready  to  fall  down."  It  was  not  until  1699,  however,  after  a  petition  of  the 
Common  Council  was  presented  to  the  provincial  authorities  stating  "that 
the  former  line  of  fortifications  in  Wall  street,  from  the  North  River  to  the 
East  River,  had  fallen  to  decay,  and  the  encroachments  of  buildings  which 
have  been  made  adjacent  thereto  will  render  the  same  useless  for  the  fu- 
ture," that  action  was  taken  for  its  demolition.  Another  reason  given  to 
his  excellency  why  their  petition  should  be  granted  was  that  "they  proposed 
with  all  speed  to  build  a  new  City  Hall  at  the  end  of  one  of  the  principal 
streets  fronting  to  the  aforesaid  line  of  fortifications;"  and  the  stones  of  the 


CRADLE     DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK.  183 

bastions  (one  on  the  corner  of  the  present  William  street  and  the  other  in 
Broadway)  added  to  the  fortifications  in  1692,  on  the  occasion  of  the  French 
War,  were  asked  for,  to  use  in  building  the  said  City  Hall. 

It  was  the  erection  of  the  City  Hall,  opposite  Broad  street,  in  1700, 
during  the  Governorship  of  the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  and  its  use  afterward,  in 
1789,  as  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States,  which  settled  the  character  of  the 
street  as  the  centre  of  interest  of  the  city.  A  description  of  the  building  as 
the  Capitol  has  been  given  in  a  previous  chapter. 

In  1816  the  site  of  the  old  City  Hall  was  divided  into  lots,  and  brought, 
on  an  average  $8,000  a  lot.  Plain  brick  buildings  were  erected  on  the  site, 
one  of  which,  on  the  corner  of  Nassau  street,  was  occupied  for  some  years 
as  a  book  store  and  reading  room,  and  afterward  was  used  as  the  Custom 
House.  The  old  Treasury  building,  originally  erected  for  a  Custom  House, 
at  one  time  occupied  the  site. 

The  first  sale  by  De  Peyster  and  Bayard  of  any  part  of  their  property 
was  in  1701,  when  a  lot  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Wall  street  and 
the  present  William  street  was  conveyed  to  Gabriel  Thompson,  innkeeper, 
for  £120.  In  1718  they  sold  to  trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  "all  that 
piece  of  land  to  the  westward  of  the  City  Hall,  on  the  north  side  of  Wall 
street,  88  feet  in  breadth  by  124  feet  in  depth,"  for  £3.50.  On  this  ground,  in 
1719,  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  was  erected,  a  history  of  which  was 
given  in  the  chapters  on  the  beginning  of  the  churches  of  the  old 
city.  It  was  enlarged  in  1748,  and  in  1810  VN^as  entirely  rebuilt.  In  1844  it 
was  sold  to  a  Presbyterian  congregation  in  Jersey  City,  and  was  taken 
down,  the  material  of  which  it  was  composed  being  used  in  the  erection 
of  substantially  the  same  building  on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Sussex 
streets,  in  that  city. 

The  site  of  the  ancient  half-moon  fortification  and  blockhouse  of  the 
Dutch  times,  at  the  foot  of  Wall  street,  served  as  the  first  established  slave 
market  in  1709.  While  in  after  years  it  was  used  as  a  meal  market,  and 
was  commonly  known  as  such,  it  continued  to  be  known  particularly  as  the 
place  "where  slaves  stood  for  hire."  Twelve  years  after  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  "the  agreeable  prospect  of  the  East  River,  which  those 
that  live  in  Wall  street  would  otherwise  enjoy,"  was  greatly  obstructed  by 
the  slave  mart,  which  occasioned  a  dirty  street,  "offensive  to  the  inhabitants 
and  disagreeable  to  those  that  pass  to  and  from  the  Coffee  House,"  and  its 
removal  was  asked  for  and  granted. 

Another  disagreeable  feature  of  the  street,  according  to  the  records, 
was  a  sugar  house  which  occupied  the  whole  front  on  the  north  side  of 
Wall  street,  between  the  present  Nassau  and  William  streets.  It  had  been 
erected  by  Samuel  Bayard  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
was  used  until  after  his  death,  in  1745.  It  was  an  unsightly  structure, 
standing  back  from  the  street,  in  the  centre  of  the  block,  inclosed  by  a  high 
fence.  Its  existence  marred  the  neighborhood  and  precluded  the  possibility 
of  improving  its  architecture.  Protests  were  made  against  it,  and  the 
authorities  ordered  its  demolition.  Fine  dwelling  houses  were  erected  on 
its  site  at  about  the  time  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  street  be- 
came famous  for  its  elegant  and  fashionable  homes. 

A  noted  building  which  adjoined  the  old  City  Hall  was  the  Verplanck 


l84  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

Mansion,  which,  after  its  use  as  a  dwelling  house,  became  the  home  of  dif- 
ferent financial  institutions.  It  stood  on  one  of  three  lots  which  were  sold 
by  the  trustees  of  the  De  Peyster  estate  to  Samuel  Verplanck  for  £260  in 
1773.  It  was  earlier  than  this,  however,  when  the  erection  of  fine  dwellings 
took  place  on  the  north  side  of  the  street,  between  William  and  Pearl 
streets. 

The  centre  of  mercantile  affairs  in  the  city  prior  to  the  Revolution 
was  the  lower  part  of  Wall  street,  which  had  been  built  up  with  stores  as 
far  as  Front  street.  In  this  section  was  the  Coffee  House,  or  Merchants' 
Exchange,  which  in  colonial  times  seethed  with  politics.  In  it  the  most 
important  commercial  and  public  affairs  had  their  origin.  It  stood  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  Wall  and  Water  streets,  and  after  the  birth  of  the  new 
Tontine  Coffee  House  was  known  as  the  Old  Coffee  House.  The  new  one 
v/as  located  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Wall  and  Water  streets,  and  cost 
$43,000.  At  the  junction  of  Wall  and  William  streets  stood  the  Pitt  statue, 
which  was  unveiled  on  September  7,  1770,  "as  a  public  testimony  of  the 
grateful  sense  the  colony  of  New  York  retains  of  the  many  eminent  services 
he  rendered  America,  particularly  in  promoting  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act."  The  statue  was  of  fine  marble.  The  figure  was  in  a  Roman  habit,  the 
right  hand  holding  a  scroll,  with  the  world  "Articuli  Magnae  Chartae 
Libertatum,"  the  left  being  extended,  in  the  attitude  assumed  in  de- 
livering an  oration.  The  statue  passed  through  various  vicissitudes  after  it 
was  torn  down  by  a  frenzied  mob,  and  what  is  left  of  it  is  in  the  keeping 
of  the  Nev/  York  Historical  Society,  which  rescued  it  from  a  junk  heap  in 
the  corporation  yard. 

With  the  end  of  the  Revolutionary  War  the  financial  history  of  Wall 
street  may  be  said  to  have  begun,  and  with  R  the  change  in  its  architectural 
as  well  as  business  character.  The  Bank  of  New  York  was  the  first  institu- 
tion established.  It  began  operations  in  1791,  on  the  corner  of  William 
street.  Eight  years  later  the  Manhattan  Company  was  incorporated,  and 
took  up  its  quarters  at  No.  23  Wall  street.  The  Merchants'  Bank,  incor- 
porated in  1805,  followed,  at  No.  25;  the  United  States  Bank,  in  1805,  at 
No.  38,  and  the  Mechanics'  Bank,  in  1810,  at  No.  16  Wall  street.  These 
were  the  pioneer  banking  institutions  of  the  city.  In  1815  there  were  thir- 
teen insurance  companies  established  in  the  street,  but  it  may  be  said  that 
companies  of  this  character  antedated  the  banks  in  the  city.  The  street  at 
the  beginning  of  the  last  century  was  in  a  heterogeneous  business  state,  as 
banks,  private  residences,  boarding  houses,  porter  houses,  grocers,  schools, 
merchants,  newspaper  offices,  auctioneers  and  insurance  offices  were  a  part 
of  its  life.  Between  1700  and  1800  lots  were  sold  in  different  parts  of  it 
for  from  £110  to  £2,510.  In  1909  the  prices  range  from  $40  a  square  foot 
to  $400. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


(1800.) 

History  of  the  "Heere  Wegli"  (Wall  Street  to  City  Hall  Park)— The  Damen 

Plantation — The  Van  Tienhoven  Plantation — The  Shoemakers' 

Pasture — The  King's  Arms  Tavern. 

As  the  history  of  the  old  city  below  Wall  street  and  of  the  outlying 
part  to  the  east  of  Broadway  has  been  told,  we  will  follow  the  line  of  the 
"Heere  Wegh,"  as  it  was  called  in  Dutch  times,  or  highway  beyond  the 
city  wall.  This  name  distinguished  it  from  the  "Heere  straat,"  which 
was  within  the  town  limits.  The  "Heere  Wegh"  followed  the  present  line 
of  Broadway  as  far  as  the  Commons,  or  present  park,  passing  a  portion  of 
the  West  India  Company's  garden,  the  Damen  and  Van  Tienhoven  planta- 
tions, a  part  of  the  West  India  Company's  farm  and  a  section  of  the  Com- 
mons, and  then  diverged  on  the  line  of  Chatham  street.  The  Company's  Gar- 
den occupied  the  site  of  the  present  Trinity  Churchyard,  but  on  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  old  churchyard  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  a 
portion  of  the  garden  lying  north  of  the  city  gates  vt^as  devoted  to  bvirial  pur- 
poses. In  the  old  days  it  was  proposed  to  erect  a  parsonage  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Trinity,  and  build  the  church  within  the  walls  of  the  bastion,  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  Wall  and  William  streets,  but  some  farsighted  citizen, 
according  to  the  record,  protested  on  the  ground  that  the  location  selected 
was  low,  and  that  the  church  should  stand  on  high  ground,. so  Broadway 
was  selected  for  its  site. 

The  Damen  plantation  extended  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway  from 
opposite  Pine  street  to  Fulton  street,  and  on  the  east  side  from  the  present 
Maiden  Lane  south  to  the  line  of  Pine  street.  It  was  patented  to  its  owner, 
John  Damen,  in  1644,  and  after  his  death,  in  1651,  reverted  to  his  widow. 
In  1660  a  partition  of  the  estate  was  made  among  Mrs.  Damen's  heirs,  wlio 
sold  their  portions.  Two  of  the  largest  parcels  of  this  land  were  conveyed 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century  to  O.  S.  Van  Cortlandt  and  Tunis  Dey.  The 
Van  Cortlandt  parcel  was  later  apportioned  to  two  daughters  of  the  burgo- 
master. In  1733  the  heirs  of  these  parties,  Philip  and  Frederic  Van  Cort- 
landt, partitioned  the  property  and  laid  out  Cortlandt  street  to  the  river, 
which  was  accepted  as  a  public  thoroughfare  the  same  year.  The  first  sale 
of  a  lot  here  took  place  in  1737.  It  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  street,  25 
by  126  feet,  and  extended  to  the  land  of  Tunis  Dey.    The  price  paid  was  £26. 

The  Dey  parcel  was  five  acres  in  extent.  Its  owner  was  a  gardener  and 
miller,  his  windmill  being  situated  near  the  river  shore.  It  was  not  until 
1730  that  partition  was  made  of  this  estate,  though  the  old  miller  had  made 
his  will  in  1688,  leaving  half  of  his  property  to  his  wife  and  half  to  his 

185  . 


i86  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

children.  It  was  brought  into  the  market  as  building  lots  in  1743,  and 
two  years  later  the  first  record  of  sale  of  one  of  them  occurs,  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  Broadway  and  Dey  street,  for  which  £75  was  paid.  A 
quarter  of  a  century  later,  and  ten  years  before  Broadway  had  been  regu- 
lated from  Dey  street  to  Fulton  street,  a  lot  on  Broadway  near  Dey  street 
brought  £380.  The  first  suburban  tavern  of  fashionable  resort  was  estab- 
lished in  1670  on  the  east  side  of  Broadway  near  the  present  Liberty 
street,  and  was  known  as  the  Blue  Boar. 

The  Van  Tienhoven  plantation  before-mentioned  extended  along  the 
east  side  of  Broadway,  from  the  Maagde  Paatje  (Maiden  Lane)  to  a  point 
about  117  feet  north  of  Fulton  street.  In  1676,  during  the  Governorship  of 
Edmund  Andros,  all  owners  of  vacant  lots  or  ruinous  buildings  were  di- 
rected to  "at  once  build  upon  or  improve  them  under  penalty  of  seeing 
them  sold  at  public  auction."  This  order  opened  the  way  for  the  sale  of  the 
Van  Tienhoven  land,  and  likewise  provided  a  location  for  the  tan-pits, 
which  had  been  considered  a  nuisance,  and  were  ordered  removed  from 
Broad  street  to  beyond  the  limits  of  the  town.  The  land  was  purchased 
by  a  company  of  five  shoemakers,  who  were  also  tanners,  who  established 
themselves  along  Maiden  Lane,  which  was  then  a  marshy  valley.  Their 
property  embraced  about  sixteen  acres,  their  tannery  being  located  near  the 
junction  of  Maiden  Lane  and  William  street.  This  section  of  the  old  city 
was  commonly  known  as  the  Shoemakers'  Pasture.  In  1696,  when  Maiden 
Lane  was  regulated  and  the  land  surveyed  and  divided  into  town  lots,  it 
still  retained  its  original  title.  In  1715  the  tannery  owners,  "finding  the 
said  land  to  be  suitable  for  building  of  houses  for  an  enlargement  of  the  city, 
projected  and  laid  out  said  lands  into  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  lots,"  and 
moved  their  business  to  the  "Swamp,"  in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  Ferry 
street. 

A  part  of  the  history  of  the  division  of  their  property  by  the  members 
of  the  Shoemakers'  Association  is  worthy  of  record.  John  Harberding,  a 
venerable  craftsman,  and  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  association, 
emigrated  to  the  colony  about  1660,  while  it  was  under  Dutch  rule.  He 
was  a  wild  youth,  it  was  said,  but  in  his  mature  years  became  a  pillar  of 
the  church.  He  plied  his  trade  as  a  shoemaker  on  Broadway,  near  Maiden 
Lane,  for  many  years,  and  so  wedded  had  he  become  to  the  locality  that 
when  the  division  of  the  property  occurred  he  petitioned  to  be  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  neighborhood.  His  fellow  members  granted  his  request,  and 
allotted  to  him  580  feet  of  ground  along  Broadway  by  160  feet  in  depth. 
At  his  death  in  1723,  it  is  said,  he  left  a  portion  of  a  large  fortune,  which 
included  a  part  of  this  land,  to  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  The  streets 
as  laid  out  originally  through  this  property  still  exist — John  street  (after 
the  owner)  and  Fulton  street  (formerly  Fair  street) — though  they  were 
widened  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century.  The  homestead  of  John 
Harberding,  on  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Maiden  Lane,  was  sold  after  his 
death  for  £120. 

The  northerly  part  of  the  Shoemakers'  Pasture  lay  above  the  present 
Fulton  street,  117  feet  on  Broadway,  and  taking  in  the  block  now  bounded 
by  Broadway,  Fulton,  Nassau  and  Ann  streets.  For  many  years  it  was  a 
famous  public   resort,   known   as   Spring   Garden,   the   public   house   on    the 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  187 

premises  standing  on  the  corner  of  Ann  street.  "Breakfast  from  7  to  9 ; 
tea  in  the  afternoon  from  3  to  6;  the  best  of  green  tea  and  hot  French  rolls, 
pies  and  tarts  drawn,  from  7  to  9;  mead  and  cakes,"  were  served  by  John 
Elkin,  its  proprietor,  says  a  newspaper  of  1761.  A  short  time  before  the 
Revolution  the  "Sons  of  Liberty"  acquired  this  property  for  their  headquar- 
ters, and  changed  its  name  to  Hampden  Hall.  Many  of  the  riots  and  public 
disputes  of  the  Revolutionary  period  occurred  within  the  walls  of  Hampden 
Hall,  but  after  the  close  of  the  hostilities  it  was  occupied  as  a  private  house 
until  its  conversion  in  1830  into  Scudder's  Museum.  In  1840  P.  T.  Barnum 
acquired  it  for  museum  purposes.  It  is  now  occupied  by  the  St.  Paul 
Building. 

Trinity  Church  farm,  which,  was  apportioned  into  lots  about  1760, 
lay  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway,  north  of  Pulton  street.  The  front  of  it 
extended  between  Partition  street  (Fulton)  and  Vesey  street.  This  part 
was  given  over  to  the  erection  of  a  church,  which  was  completed  in  1765 
and  called  St.  Paul's.     It  links  to-day  the  past  with  the  present. 

One  can  hardly  think,  looking  at  that  portion  of  Broadway  around 
Liberty  street,  that  for  thirty-three  years  from  1738  there  stood  in  the 
middle  of  Broadway,  opposite  the  street  mentioned,  which  was  then  called 
Crown  street,  a  building  156  feet  long  and  23i/^  feet  wide,  used  as  a  market. 
"It  was  an  eyesore  to  the  neighborhood  and  prejudicial  to  the  elegance  of 
the  street,"  says  the  record.  With  taverns,  lodging  houses  and  small  stores 
clustered  around  it,  and  market  and  country  wagons  backed  up  at  its 
entrances,  it  was  a  busy  mart  of  the  old  city,  but  withal  a  nuisance,  as  on 
either  side  of  it  a  space  barely  twenty  feet  wide  existed  for  other  commer- 
cial purposes.  Frequent  appeals  were  made  to  legislative  authority  for  its 
removal,  without  apparent  effect  until  1771,  when  its  indictment  as  a 
public  nuisance  was  obtained,  causing  its  obliteration.  A  new  one  to  take 
its  place  was  erected  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and  Maiden  Lane, 
with  its  front  on  the  latter  thoroughfare.  Though  its  new  position  removed 
it  from  the  centre  of  the  business  life  which  had  grown  around  it,  it  estab- 
lished for  itself  a  new  field.  In  1776,  when  the  great  fire  occurred,  all  the 
taverns,  lodging  houses,  small  stores  and  dwellings  on  the  west  side  of  the 
street  were  swept  away,  among  them  the  King's  Arms  Tavern,  a  popular 
resort  for  country  people  and  of  notable  local  reputation,  which  stood  oppo- 
site the  new  market.  It  was  constructed  of  gray  stone,  with  narrow  arched 
windows  in  front,  and  from  its  rear  piazza  a  view  of  the  river  was  afforded. 
In  it  General  Gage  had  headquarters,  and  from  its  garden,  which  extended 
to  the  river,  it  is  said  the  chivalric  Champe  proposed  to  abduct  Benedict 
Arnold,  who  resided  in  the  house  after  the  discovery  of  his  treason,  and 
carry  him  off  to  the  American  lines  in  the  Jerseys. 

^  Broadway,  from  Rector  street  to  the  park,  was  ordered  surveyed  in 
1790  for  the  purpose  of  repaving  it.  The  work  was  begun  in  the  middle 
of  the  year,  and  when  finished  the  street  had  brick  sidewalks,  "which 
enhanced  its  value  as  a  thoroughfare"  and  led  to  the  establishment  on  it 
four  years  after  of  the  first  building  in  the  city  with  a  slate  roof.  It 
was  known  as  the  City  Hotel,  and  its  erection  was  considered  quite  en- 
terprising in  the  old  days,  as  it  occupied  the  entire  block  between  Thames 
and  Cedar  streets,   "and  was  the  loftiest  edifice  of  the  kind  in  the  city." 


i88  CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW     YORK. 

It  was  the  scene  of  public  balls,  dinners,  concerts  and  festivities;  in  fact, 
the  fashionable  resort  of  the  town.  It  stood  long  into  the  first  half  of  the 
last  century,  with  the  result  which  usually  follows  progress.  A  stage  estab- 
lishment, standing  on  the  block  between  Cedar  and  Liberty  streets,  fol- 
lowed the  erection  of  the  City  Hotel,  and  on  the  next  block,  extending  to 
Cortlandt  street,  fine  buildings  and  stores  were  erected,  among  them  those 
of  John  Jacob  Astor,  fur  merchant;  James  H.  Kipp,  merchant;  Jacobus 
Bogart,  baker,  and  John  B.  Dash,  Jr.,  iron  merchant. 

These  buildings  were  not  superior  to  those  standing  between  Cort- 
landt and  Fulton  streets,  it  is  said,  and  some  of  them  were  less  preten- 
tious. During  the  years  between  1796  and  1815,  however,  the  character 
of  the  locality  had  changed,  and  some  of  the  old  gave  way  to  the  new  when 
the  retail  and  shopping  trade  had  obtained  a  foothold,  and  the  character  of 
the  structures  was  made  to  conform  to  the  business  rather  than  the  resi- 
dential idea.  The  valuation  of  property  about  1815  from  No.  123  to  207 
Broadway  is  of  interest.  It  ranged  from  $90,000  for  the  City  Hotel  at  No. 
123  to  $10,000  for  the  dry  goods  store  which  stood  at  No.  207. 

The  fashionable  shopping  side  of  Broadway  in  the  beginning  of  the 
last  century,  and,  indeed,  well  into  the  middle  of  it,  was  the  west,  and  the 
improvement  in  architecture  was  also  more  rapid  there.  On  the  east  side 
the  buildings  first  erected  were  mainly  two  story  structures,  but  after  the 
Revolution  these  gave  place  to  first-class  buildings,  which  were  occupied 
for  commercial  purposes,  among  them  Barnum's  Hotel,  which  in  1851  was 
named  the  Howard  House;  the  Tremont  Temperance  House,  which  stood  at 
No.  110  Broadway;  the  New  York  Atheneum,  on  the  corner  of  Pine  street, 
and  the  National  Hotel,  at  No.   112  Broadway. 

It  is  only  within  the  last  sixty  or  seventy  years  that  all  the  cross 
streets  leading  into  Broadway  in  this  section  have  been  widened  and 
improved.  In  1813  Liberty  street  was  widened  to  Greenwich;  1834, 
Pine  street  (originally  King  street)  from  Broadway  to  Nassau,  and  Fulton 
street,  from  Broadway  to  Rider's  Alley;  1836,  John  street,  from  Broadway 
to  Pearl  street;  1851,  Dey  street,  from  Broadway  to  Greenwich;  1852, 
Liberty  street,  from  Broadway  to  Greenwich,  and  1854,  Wall  street,  from 
Broadway  to  Nassau  street. 

From  Vesey  street  to  Duane  street,  Broadway  was  improved  but 
little  until  the  inclosure  of  the  Fields  and  their  establishment  as  a  park, 
in  1785-.  When  it  was  first  surveyed  in  1760  from  "the  Spring  Garden 
House  to  the  grounds  of  th,e  late  Widow  Rutgers,"  it  was  named  Great 
George  street,  and  for  thirty  years  thereafter  was  so  called.  On  its  west 
side  was  the  church  farm,  and  on  its  east  the  Fields  and  the  burying  ground 
for  negroes.  The  church  farm  extended  from  Fulton  street  to  near  Duane, 
and  west  to  the  North  River.  The  Dutch  West  India  Company  in  the  early 
days  set  apart  this  ground  to  be  tilled  for  the  uses  of  their  public  officers 
and  the  garrison  in  the  fort,  and  it  was  so  used  until  the  overturning  of 
the  government  of  the  colony  by  the  English,  when  it  became  their  prop- 
erty, and  was  called  the  King's  Farm.  Lord  Cornbury,  when  Governor  in 
1705,  to  encourage  the  Established  Church,  granted  the  ground  to  the 
corporation  of  Trinity  Church,  which,  when  Broadway  was  opened,  divided 
it  into  streets  and  lots  and  ceded  the  former  to  the  city.     The  names  of 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 


189 


these  streets,  with  the  exception  of  Park  Place,  originally  called  Robinson 
street,  are  the  same  as  at  the  time  the  cession  was  made. 

On  the  site  of  the  present  Astor  House  stood  the  farm  house  of  the 
King's  Farm.  Its  vicissitudes  were  many,  it  is  recorded.  After  its  original 
use  it  became  a  private  dwelling,  then  a  drovers'  inn,  and  then  a  public 
garden.  About  1794  it  gave  place  to  the  home  of  John  Jacob  Astor,  and  in 
1838  the  Astor  House  was  built  on  its  site.  "Where  the  two  roads  meet," 
v/as  the  designation  given  by  the  occupant  of  one  of  the  old  farm  houses, 
Cornelius  Vandenberg,  in  his  advertisement  in  December,  174  7,  notifying 
the  public  "that  I  design  to  set  out  as  Albany  post,  for  the  first  time  this 
winter,  on  next  Thursday.  All  letters  to  go  by  me  are  to  be  sent  to  the 
postoffice,  or  to  my  house  near  the  Spring  Garden." 

A  record  of  1760  shows  the  lease  of  four  lots  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  Murray  street,  for  twenty-one  years,  at  a  rental  of  £8  a  year — the  first 
lease  of  Trinity  Church  property  along  Broadway, 


i%  f^, 


•^#*l!*»'™^#^' 


SURRENDER  OF  NEW  AMSTERDAM  BY  PETER  STUYVESANT,  1664. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


(1800.) 

Broadway  from  Vesey  to  Duane  Street — Montagnie's  Garden — Cox's  Garden 

— Contoit  Garden — The  Rutgers  Farm — Origin  cf  Chambers  Street 

— First  Dry  Goods  Store — Exhibition  of  Sewing  Machine. 

More  than  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  'had  passed  when  Mr. 
Marschalk  surveyed  the  present  Broadway  from  Vesey  street  to  Duane  street, 
and  slow,  indeed,  was  the  growth  of  this  section  after  the  street  had  been 
opened.  The  Fields,  as  has  been  said,  was  the  rallying  point  of  the  citizens 
on  occasions  momentous  and  otherwise,  and  to  this  may  be  attributed  the 
establishment  opposite  them,  in  the  days  preceding  the  Revolution,  of  sev- 
eral public  gardens,  which  were  the  principal  features  of  the  neighborhood. 
Near  the  northerly  corner  of  Murray  street  was  Montagnie's  Garden,  and 
on  the  block  above  Cox's  Garden.  The  former  was  for  a  time  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Liberty  Boys,  and  directly  opposite  it  they  raised  their  suc- 
cessive poles,  which  were  as  often  demolished  by  the  soldiers  and  the  Tory 
faction.  In  1770  a  party  of  soldiers  who  had  failed  to  demolish  a  liberty 
pole  drove  the  onlookers  into  the  Montagnie  house  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  and  destroyed  its  doors  and  windows.  The  owner  incensed  the 
patriots  a  short  time  afterward,  however,  by  renting  his  rooms  to  members 
of  the  opposite  faction,  and  the  patriots  removed  their  headquarters  to  a 
building  which  they  purchased  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Fields,  Hampden 
Hall,  before  written  of.  Montagnie  continued  to  occupy  the  premises,  but 
changed  the  name  to  the  United  States  Garden,  until  1802,  when  John  H. 
Contoit,  a  confectioner,  became  the  owner.  He  conducted  it  until  1805, 
afterward  removing  to  near  Park  Place  and  establishing  the  New  York 
Garden,  which  he  transferred  in  1809  to  No.  355  Broadway,  the  Park 
Place  site  giving  way  to  private  residences.  The  old  Contoit  Garden  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Augustus  Parise  in  1805,  and  some  years  after  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  building  called  the  Parthenon,  which  in  1825  was  occupied 
as  a  museum  under  the  auspices  of  Reuben  Peale.  The  museum  occupied 
the  second,  third  and  fourth  stories,  says  an  advertisement  of  the  date 
mentioned,  and  "has  a  terraced  roof  commanding  a  capital  view  of  the  park 
and  all  the  neighboring  streets,  together  with  the  city  and  harbor." 

These  gardens  and  a  fevv^  scattered  small  buildings  were  the  only  im- 
provements existing  opposite  the  Fields  until  the  period  when  the  name 
of  the  street  was  changed  to  Broadway  for  its  entire  distance  north  of 
Vesey  street,  and  when  it  was  extended  to  the  Rutgers  farm,  near  Duane 
street,  in  1794.  After  this  year  the  march  of  private  improvement  began 
on  the  block  between  Vesey  and  Barclay  streets,  and  fine  residences,  built 

I  go 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  191 

and  occupied  by  leading  citizens,  gave  an  increased  value  to  the  surround- 
ing section.  The  Rutherfords,  the  Kings,  the  Roosevelts,  the  Harrisons, 
and  the  Hammonds  resided  here.  No.  221,  next  to  the  corner  of  Vesey 
street,  was  the  property  of  the  State,  and  in  1802  was  the  official  residence 
of  Aaron  Burr,  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  No.  223,  owned  by 
John  Jacob  Astor,  was  the  home  of  Edward  Livingston,  mayor  of  the  city 
from  1801  to  1803.  The  portion  of  the  street  lying  north  of  Barclay 
street  was  not  so  progressive,  however,  and  it  was  some  years  before  the 
inferior  class  of  buildings  occupying  it  gave  way  to  residences  of  a  sub- 
stantial character.  After  1815  the  block  between  Barclay  street  and  Park 
Place  began  to  assume  an  air  of  respectability,  which  afterward  pervaded 
the  block  between  the  latter  thoroughfare  and  Murray  street.  Among 
the  residents  here  were  William  Rhinelander,  Daniel  Boardman,  John  Hag- 
gerty  and  Samuel  Hicks.  Between  Murray  and  Chambers  streets  new 
buildings  were  being  erected,  and  with  their  completion  the  Fields  became 
a  thing  of  the  past,  to  be  referred  to  as  at  present.  By  18  27  two  hotels 
had  been  established  on  this  section  of  Broadway,  the  American, 
on  the  corner  of  Barclay  street,  "occupying  the  most  eligible  situation  in 
the  city,  and  being  in  the  vicinity  of  the  City  Hall  and  theatres,"  and  the 
Park  Place  House,  "opposite  the  park  and  in  the  street  that  leads  to 
Columbia  College."  The  Irving  House,  a  fashionable  hostelry,  which  stood 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Chambers  street  and  Broadway,  was  erected 
later,  and  was  a  point  of  popular  interest  for  a  time.  In  it  John  C.  Colt 
had  his  office,  and  there  he  murdered  a  printer  named  Adams,  who  was 
getting  out  a  work  on  bookkeeping  for  him.  By  a  curious  chain  of  cir- 
cumstances the  vessel  on  which  the  body  of  the  printer  had  been  shipped 
to  South  America  by  Colt  was  driven  ashore  by  adverse  winds,  and  the 
authorities  in  some  way  discovered  that  a  murder  had  been  committed. 
It  was  traced  to  Colt,  who  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  be  executed.  On 
the  morning  of  the  day  set  for  the  execution  the  murderer  committed 
suicide,  though  rumor  had  it  that  the  body  of  a  pauper  convict  had  been 
substituted,  and  that  Colt  had  escaped  to  France. 

A  report  of  the  Common  Council  in  June,  1796,  is  of  interest  as  show^ 
ing  the  origin  of  Chambers  street  and  the  establishment  of  the  boundaries 
of  the  park. 

"The  committee  on  the  memorial  of  Henry  Kip  and  others,  on  adjust- 
ing boundary  lines  between  the  negroes'  burial  ground,  report  and  recom- 
mend: 

"1.  That  the  measure  mentioned  in  the  patent  to  Cornelius  Van 
Borsum  for  said  land,  dated  October  16,  1673,  be,  so  far  as  this  corporation 
is  concerned,  deemed  English  statute  measure. 

"2.  That  a  street  sixty-five  feet  wide,  to  remain  a  public  street,  be 
laid  out  opposite  Chambers  street,  and  to  extend  from  Broadway  to  the 
east  side  of  George  street,  and  thence  to  Augustus  street,  as  delineated 
on  map  annexed. 

"3.  That  the  claimants  to  the  burying  ground  release  to  the  cor- 
portation  their  interest  in  the  land  so  laid  out  for  a  street,  and  also  of  all 
land  to  the  south  of  said  street,  and  the  corporation  will  release  to  said 
claimants  all  their  interest  in  land  north  of  the  said  street. 


192 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 


"4.  To  compensate  the  claimants  for  the  difference  in  extent  of  lands 
conveyed  by  them  and  those  conveyed  to  them  by  the  corporation,  the  cor- 
poration will  convey  to  them  lands  bounded  southeast  by  Augustus  street, 
south  by  the  street  to  be  opened  (Chambers),  northwest  by  the  negroes' 
burial  ground,  and  northeast  by  land  of  Janeway,  and  also  certain  lots  on 
southeast  side  of  Augustus  street. 

"Agreed  to." 

It  was  some  years  after  the  Revolution  that  this  land  was  improved. 
According  to  a  map  of  the  locality  of  the  year  mentioned,  the  descendants 
of  David  Provoost,  mayor  of  the  city  in  1699-1700,  owned  the  three  build- 
ings next  to  the  corner  of  Chambers  street,  the  only  ones  on  the  block. 
On  the  southeast  corner  of  Reade  street  a  temporary  one-story  structure 
stood  until  the  erection  of  Washington  Hall  on  its  site  in  1812.  From  an 
architectural  point  of  view  this  building  was  one  of  the  handsomest  in  the 
city.  It  was  erected  under  the  auspices  of  the  Washington  Benevolent 
Society,  who  were  the  Federalists  of  that  day,  and  was  the  Federal  head- 
quarters at  about  the  time  that  old  Tammany  Hall  was  built  by  the  opposi- 
tion party.  The  political  problems  of  the  young  city  were  thrashed  out 
within  its  walls,  and  many  exciting  scenes  of  the  period  antedating  the  last 
war  with  Great  Britain  occurred  in  its  assembly  hall.  In  18  28  it  was 
altered  and  repaired  by  Chester  Bailey,  of  Philadelphia,  to  serve  as  a  hotel, 
but  was  ill  adapted  for  the  purpose,  and  finally  in  1848  it  became  the  prop- 
erty of  A.  T.  Stewart,  who  erected  on  its  site  the  present  marble  building, 
which  was  the  pioneer  of  that  class  of  structures  on  Broadway.  He 
gradually  added  to  the  territory  and  building  he  possessed,  until  a  store  of 
astonishing  size  for  that  period  covered  the  entire  block  from  Chambers 
street  to  Reade  street,  and  200  feet  back  from  Broadway.  It  became  the 
wholesale  house  after  its  owner  purchased  his  uptown  property.  It  is  an 
office   building   now. 

The  pioneer  dry  goods  merchant  first  began  business  on  the  west  side 
of  Broadway  directly  opposite  the  present  Stewart  Building.  This  block 
was  first  improved  by  William  Alexander,  who  in  1796  erected  a  handsome 
residence  on  the  corner  of  Reade  street.  With  the  exception  of  a  three-story 
brick  house  which  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  block,  the  other  structures 
were  of  wood.  In  one  of  these,  with  its  gable  end  to  the  street,  A.  T. 
Stewart  established  two  stores,  each  about  twelve  feet  wide,  and  started  on 
his  road  to  fortune.     Its  owner  was  Anthony  Steenbach,  a  brewer. 

The  west  side  of  Broadway,  from  Chambers  to  Duane  street,  was  first 
improved,  if  the  term  may  be  used,  by  the  erection  of  a  brewery  on  the 
corner  of  the  latter  street.  It  continued  in  existence  until  Duane  street 
was  improved  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  from  its  term  of  exist- 
ence, which  antedated  the  Revolution,  was  known  as  the  Old  Brewery. 
Between  Reade  and  Duane  streets  stood  a  pottery,  erected  late  in  1700,  and 
belonging  to  an  alderman  of  the  city,  who  afterward  sold  the  site  to  Isaac 
Lawrence.  On  it  the  latter  built  a  row  of  brick  buildings,  some  of  which 
stood  as  relics  of  the  past  until  a  short  time  ago. 

The  first  dry  goods  store  above  St.  Paul's  Church  was  opened  on  the 
corner  of  Broadway  and  Chambers  street,  in  a  row  of  small  one-story  build- 
ings built  on  ground  purchased  by  Steenbach,  the  brewer,  mentioned  above. 


CRADLE    DAYS     OF    NEW    YORK.  1^3 

who  was  said  to  have  been  a  venturesome  real  estate  operator  of  that  day. 
The  buildings  fronted  on  Chambers  street,  and  their  erection  was  considered 
a  risky  undertaking  by  those  "in  the  know,"  but  the  descendants  of  the 
brewer  profited  by  his  investment,  as  in  1830  the  ground  alone  brought 
nearly  ten  times  the  amount  of  the  purchase  price.  A  well  known  and 
popular  resort  of  the  days  of  the  youthful  city  stood  on  the  corner  of  Reade 
street,  Palmo's  Cafe.  Its  owner  afterward  forsook  his  occupation  to  erect 
an  opera  house  in  Chambers  street,  which  later  became  Burton's  Theatre, 
a  history  of  which  was  given  in  another  chapter. 

Three  doors  south  of  Duane  street,  on  Broadway,  the  first  sewing 
machine  was  exhibited.  People  watched  the  operation  of  the  rather 
primitive  machine  with  surprise,  coupled  with  much  distrust  as  to 
its  utility  for  household  use.  It  was  an  impossible  thing,  and,  even 
if  perfected,  would  be  injurious  to  the  needlewoman  who  must  work  in 
order  to  live.  The  matrons  would  have  none  of  it — handwork  was  good 
enough  for  them.  But  the  little  machine  kept  clicking  each  day,  and  what 
it  produced  was  exhibited,  despite  the  unbelief  of  the  women,  and  the  men, 
too.  Meetings  were  held  in  some  quarters  to  support  the  handworkers, 
and  protests  were  raised  against  its  introduction.  It  had  come  to  stay, 
and  stay  it  did. 

The  history  of  Broadway  is  now  verging  on  a  section  the  origin  of 
which  the  historian  knows  little  about.  It  is  "Kalckhook,"  or  lime  shell 
point,  which  began  at  a  vale  near  the  present  line  of  Duane  street,  and 
rose  gradually  to  an  elevation  of  forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  surrounding 
meadows.  A  pond  an  acre  or  more  in  size  lay  at  its  summit.  According 
to  the  early  maps  of  the  colony,  what  was  known  as  "The  Kalckhook" 
embraced  about  forty  acres,  and  was  granted  to  Jan  Damen  in  1646  by 
Governor  Kieft.  It  was  a  useless  piece  of  ground,  apparently,  as  an  exten- 
sive cretaceous  deposit  covered  nearly  its  whole  extent  and  precluded  the 
possibility  of  cultivation.  What  it  once  was  is  a  matter  of  conjecture, 
though  the  information  gathered  from  its  location  and  from  the  fact  that 
the  pond  on  its  summit  was  well  supplied  with  fish,  as  well  as  the  existence 
of  Indian  tribes  on  the  island,  points  to  the  spot  as  at  least  a  temporary  set- 
tlement of  aborigines.  It  is  only  conjecture,  however,  as  from  no  source 
can  evidence  of  its  use  at  all  be  gleaned. 

In  1685  the  partition  of  this  part  of  the  Damen  estate  occurred,  and 
it  became  the  property  of  four  men,  two  of  whom  were  Jacobus  Van  Cort- 
landt  and  Anthony  Rutgers.  It  lay  in  common,  however,  for  many  years 
afterward,  as  the  public  pound  was  established  on  it. 

The  Van  Cortlandt  portion  of  "The  Kalckhook"  remained  In  the  family 
for  over  a  century,  unimproved,  while  the  Rutgers  tract  to  the  west  in  1730 
began  to  evidence  its  owner's  prodigality  in  its  reclamation.  On  it  a  hand- 
some residence  was  built,  which  he  occupied  until  his  death  in  1750.  "Sur- 
rounding it,"  says  an  old  chronicler,  "was  elegant  shrubbery  in  the  geo- 
metrical style  of  rural  gardening  of  those  days,  with  long  walks,  bordered 
with  boxwood  and  shaded  and  perfumed  with  flowering  shrubs,  extending 
in  various  directions  in  the  parterre  fronting  the  house.  The  orchard  ex- 
tended along  the  southerly  side  of  the  mansion,  while  the  pasture  lands  and 
cultivated  fields  extended  toward  the  north.     It  was  a  chai-ming  rural  resi- 


194  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

dence,  and  even  in  after  years,  when  its  quiet  and  domestic  characteristics 
had  given  place  to  the  festive  incidents  attached  to  a  public  resort,  it  was 
considered  the  most  rural  and  pleasing  retreat  near  the  city." 

Very  much  like  the  people  of  the  present  New  York  were  those  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  in  the  matter  of  suburban  pleasure  seeking,  and  to 
Ranelagh,  as  the  former  residence  and  garden  of  Colonel  Rutgers  was  called 
by  its  new  proprietor  after  the  colonel's  death,  the  best  citizens  repaired  to 
feast,  dance  and  listen  to  music  on  Monday  and  Thursday  evenings  during 
the  summer,  "where  everything,"  according  to  an  advertisement  of  the  year 
preceding  the  Revolution,  "is  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  John 
Jones." 

In  1770  the  Rutgers  estate  was  offered  for  sale,  and  was  purchased  in 
1772  by  an  organization  of  citizens  who  designed  to  build  a  hospital  on  the 
ground — an  institution  then  unknown  in  New  York.  It  was  at  first  pro- 
posed to  establish  it  in  the  park,  but  the  project  was  abandoned  because  of 
its  proximity  to  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  the  Rutgers  orchard  was  fixed 
upon.  Most  of  the  fund  had  been  subscribed  in  1771  for  the  purpose,  and  in 
lieu  of  the  land  which  had  previously  been  set  apart  for  it  the  corporation 
added  il,000.  In  1774  the  building  was  completed  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
$18,000,  and  the  following  year  was  partly  destroyed  by  fire.  During  the 
occupation  of  the  British  it  had  been  suflficiently  repaired  to  serve  as  a 
barracks  for  the  soldiers.  After  the  return  of  peace  it  was  reopened  for  its 
original  purpose.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  present  New 
York  Hospital. 

The  improvement  of  this  section  was  undertaken  shortly  after 
1783  by  the  regulation  and  opening  of  streets.  Because  of  the  natural 
unevenness  of  the  surface  much  filling  and  excavating  were  required  in 
various  parts,  as,  for  instance,  when  sidewalks  were  first  proposed,  in  1791, 
to  extend  from  the  Bridewell  in  the  park  to  the  hospital,  it  was  reported  by 
the  surveyor  that  Broadway  at  Warren  and  Chambers  streets  would  require 
to  be  lowered  three  feet,  while  at  the  depressed  portion  through  which 
Duane  street  was  laid  out  it  would  be  necessary  to  raise  it  about  eight  feet. 
Nearing  the  hospital  ten  feet  would  have  to  be  taken  away.  The  work  was 
begun  in  1792,  and  the  sidewalks  stopped  opposite  the  house  of  David  M. 
Clarkson,  which  was  across  the  way  from  the  hospital.  It  was  designed, 
however,  to  proceed  with  the  digging  of  the  street  as  far  as  the  Meadows 
at  Canal  street,  though  it  was  some  years  before  the  work  was  completed. 
The  deepest  cutting  down  of  Broadway  was  between  the  present  White  and 
Walker  streets,  twenty-three  feet  of  the  hill  having  to  be  taken  away  to 
meet  the  valley  at  the  Meadows. 

A  few  of  the  streets  in  the  section  have  retained  their  original  names, 
as  White,  Walker,  Canal,  Catharine  Lane  and  Leonard.  Duane  street  was 
once  known  as  Barley  street,  after  a  brewery  west  of  Broadway;  Pearl 
street  at  Broadway  was  originally  Magazine  street,  as  it  led  past  the  old 
powder  house  on  the  little  island  in  the  Collect  Pond;  Worth  street  had 
two  changes — Catherine  street  and  then  Anthony  street,  and  Franklin 
street  was  in  the  old  days  Sugar-loaf  street. 


CHAPTER   XL. 


(1800.) 

East  Side  of  Broadway,  Between  Buane  and  Fearl  Streets — Masonic  Hall — 

The  Morgan  Murder— The  De  Puyster  Dairy— The  White 

Conduit  House — Another  Conduit  Garden. 

It  was  well  toward  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  when  the 
improvement  of  the  east  side  of  Broadway  between  Duane  and  Pearl  streets 
was  begun,  but  before  its  dawn  the  whole  front  had  been  built  upon.  Most 
of  the  structures  were  of  wood,  with  the  exception  of  two  which  had  been 
erected  by  a  Mr.  Nichols.  These  were  of  brick  and  considered  of  an  excel- 
lent class.  Among  their  occupants  in  after  years  were  William  Cutting,  a 
forebear  of  the  present  New  York  family;  John  C.  Stevens,  John  Tonnele, 
Jr.,  and  Mr.  Rapelje,  whose  present  descendants  are  prominent  in  New 
York  business  and  social  life.  About  1819  John  McKesson,  and  afterward 
H.  H.  Schieffelin,  resided  in  No.  366,  a  house  which  at  that  period  surpassed 
any  of  its  neighbors.  Several  of  the  frame  buildings  stood  until  near  the 
middle  of  1800,  while  others- were  demolished  in  1826  to  supply  the  site  for 
old  Masonic  Hall,  an  edifice  of  the  pure  Gothic  style,  its  front  built  of  east- 
ern gray  granite,  with  the  sides  and  interior  walls  of  brick,  and  its  upper 
windows  commanding  a  view  of  the  city,  harbor  and  adjacent  country.  An 
apartment  in  this  building  which  became  a  favorite  resort  of  assemblies  of 
citizens  was  considered  the  finest  in  point  of  beauty  of  any  other  for  a 
similar  purpose  in  the  United  States.  The  cost  of  constructing  Masonic 
Hall  was  $50,000,  quite  a  sum  of  money  at  that  time,  which  was  raised  by 
the  fraternity  in  the  city. 

The  prosperity  of  Masonic  Hall  began  to  wane  soon  after  the  building 
was  completed,  as  the  following  short  history  of  the  anti-Masonic  excite- 
ment which  started  in  1826  will  show.  One  William  Morgan,  a  recreant 
Mason  of  Batavia,  N.  Y.,  threatened  to  expose  the  secrets  of  the  fraternity 
because  of  some  fancied  wrong  done  him.  He  suddenly  disappeared,  and  it 
was  charged  that  he  had  been  abducted  and  afterward  murdered  by  the 
fraternity.  Political  strife  in  the  city  was  strong  at  the  time,  and  the 
charge  was  soon  converted  into  a  political  weapon.  A  combination  was 
formed  against  the  Masons,  who  at  this  time  were  a  large  and  flourishing 
body,  extravagant  rumors  of  diabolical  practice  in  their  conclaves  were  cir- 
culated, and  at  the  elections  of  1827  the  people  threw  aside  previous  party 
allegiances  and  ranged  themselves  as  Masons  or  anti-Masons  at  the  polls. 
A  number  of  prominent  papers  opened  a  crusade  against  the  society,  public 
meetings  were  held  at  which  members  v/ho  had  withdrawn  from  it  de- 
nounced it  as  a  bed  of  wickedness  and  intriguing,  and  it  was  persecuted  in 

195 


196  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

a  way  almost  fanatical.  So  great  was  the  prejudice  throughout  the  com- 
munity against  it  that  its  existence  was  threatened.  Its  success,  though, 
was  paralyzed  for  many  years,  and  the  society  became  almost  a  dead  letter. 
The  fate  of  Morgan  was  never  positively  known,  though  a  body  found  in 
Lake  Ontario  was  declared  to  be  his  by  the  anti-Masonic  party.  The  expres- 
sion "a  good  enough  Morgan  till  after  election,"  based  on  this  incident, 
originated  with  the  friends  of  the  Masons,  and  was  used  during  the  election 
excitement.  It  was  at  this  period  the  name  Gothic  Hall  was  given  the 
building,  and  as  late  as  1844  a  city  paper  recorded  the  fact  that  it  had 
changed  hands,  its  stockholders  having  received  neither  principal  nor  in- 
terest on  their  investment.  It  was  torn  down  about  1855,  and  on  its  site, 
Nos.  314  and  316  Broadway,  improved  and  what  were  considered  at  the 
time  elegant  structures  were  built. 

Between  Pearl  and  Worth  streets  stood  a  brewery,  built  shortly  after 
the  Revolution  by  a  man  whose  widow  married  the  brewer  Steenbach,  and 
their  residence  was  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and 
the  present  Worth  street,  and  on  the  northeast  was  that  of 
Steenbach's  partner.  The  entrance  to  the  brewery  and  malt-house 
was  on  Worth  street.  Fronting  Broadway  and  attached  to  each  of  the 
dwelling  houses  were  large  kitchen  gardens,  which  were  afterward  built 
upon  by  Stephen  Conover,  executor  of  Brewer  Steenbach.  The  Broadway 
Theatre  was  the  principal  building  on  this  block  in  after  years,  but  a  short 
time  after  1850  it  gave  place  to  marble  stores  erected  by  James  R.  Whiting. 

The  block  north  of  this  one  had  but  one  house  on  it  two  or 
three  years  prior  to  1800.  The  land  was  the  property  of  the  brewery 
owners.  Within  a  few  years,  however,  residences  of  a  good  class 
were  erected  on  it  and  were  occupied  at  different  periods  by  such  well 
known  leading  New  York  citizens  as  John  Griscom,  Gilbert  Robertson,  Ed- 
ward Laight  and  J.  R.  Beekman.  About  1836  the  Sixth  Free  Presbyterian 
Church,  with  the  largest  accommodation  of  any  then  in  the  city,  was  erected 
here  between  Worth  street  and  Catharine  Lane.  It  stood  upon  lots  in  the 
rear  of  those  on  Broadway,  with  its  entrance  on  this  thoroughfare  at  No. 
340.  Some  time  about  1840  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Tabernacle.  Its 
history  is  identified  with  many  gatherings  of  the  people  on  important  occa- 
sions. In  it  Wendell  Phillips,  Gerrit  Smith  and  Lucretia  Mott  thundered 
forth  their  opinions  on  slavery. 

An  interesting  business  history  surrounds  the  block  between  Catharine 
Lane  and  Leonard  street.  Before  the  grade  of  the  street  was  lowered  two 
small  frame  buildings  stood  on  it.  In  one  of  them,  after  the  grade  was 
made,  Stephen  Conover  established  his  hardware  store,  the  first  in  that  sec- 
tion of  the  city.  It  stood  on  the  corner  of  Leonard  street,  and  afterward 
gave  place  to  the  building  of  the  New  York  Society  Library  Association, 
which  had  previously  been  located  in  Nassau  street,  opposite  the  old  post- 
ofiice.  This  institution  was  the  oldest  of  its  kind  in  the  city.  In  1836  it 
sold  its  Nassau  street  property  for  $44,200,  and  with  this  and  other  monies 
derived  from  the  New  York  Athenaeum,  which  had  merged  with  it,  it  pur- 
chased the  site  on  Broadway,  60  feet  front  and  100  feet  deep,  for  $47,500. 
The  building  was  completed  in  1839,  at  a  cost  of  $70,000,  and  was  occupied 
by  the  association  until  1853,  when  it  was  sold  to  Appleton  &  Co.,  pub- 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    XEJV     YORK.  197 

lishers,  for  $110,000.  The  New  York  Life  Insurance  Building  stands  on  the 
ground. 

What  was  before  the  Revolution  the  private  dairy  farm  of  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet De  Peyster  is  now  the  block  between  Leonard  and  Franklin  streets. 
Originally  a  portion  of  the  Kalckhook  south  of  the  Van  Cortlandt  property, 
it  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  De  Peysters,  who  used  it  as  pasture  land 
to  supply  themselves  with  home-made  butter  and  fresh  milk,  as  was  the 
custom  among  the  wealthy  families  at  the  time.  After  the  death  of  Mrs. 
De  Peyster  and  the  partition  of  the  estate  this  ground  was  put  on  the 
market  and  sold  by  the  heirs,  one  of  whom  married  David  M.  Clarkson,  a 
New  York  merchant,  who  soon  after  the  Revolution  erected  a  residence 
about  midway  between  the  two  streets,  on  the  east  side  of  Broadway.  The 
house  stood  fifty  feet  back  from  the  street,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  large 
garden,  which  extended  along  the  present  Leonard  street  to  about  the  line 
of  Elm.  Early  in  1800  the  owner  of  this  property,  which  was  about  160 
feet  on  Broadway  and  380  feet  deep,  sold  it  to  Rufus  King  and  John  Law- 
rence for  $30,000.  In  1813,  three  years  after  the  partition  of  the  various 
lots  had  been  made  by  King  and  Lawrence,  houses  of  a  superior  class  were 
constructed  on  this  block,  and  toward  the  middle  of  the  last  century  the 
Carlton  House  was  built  on  the  site  of  two  of  them,  Nos.  350  and  352. 

Old  newspaper  advertisements  of  1796  tell  us  that  "Rickett's  Amphi- 
theatre is  to  rent  for  circus  and  theatrical  performances  and  for  panoramic 
exhibitions."  It  was  situated  on  Broadway,  north  of  White  street,  and  its 
site  many  years  before  was  used  by  itinerant  circus  performers  who  found 
their  way  to  New  York  "and  were  accustomed  to  exhibit  on  the  hill  above 
the  Collect." 

North  of  Franklin  street  improvements  were  deferred  some  years.  A 
great  part  of  the  property  was  held  by  old  Van  Cortlandt  representatives  and 
some  by  the  Corporation,  especially  the  lots  which  had  been  used  for  reser- 
voir purposes.  The  few  disconnected  cottages  occupying  the  east  side  of 
Broadway,  between  Franklin  and  Canal  streets,  went  down  before  the 
march  of  improvements  in  1816  or  1817,  and  handsome  residences  took  their 
places.  Some  of  these  were  between  Franklin  and  White  streets,  and  were 
owned  and  occupied  by  William  M.  Cutting,  John  M.  Bradhurst  and  Richard 
Kingsland.  The  Cutting  residence  was  occupied  later  by  John  Jacob  Astor 
and  remained  until  the  middle  of  the  century.  Between  the  two  streets 
north  the  first  improvement  was  made  by  the  widow  of  Goldsborough  Banyar 
and  by  Peter  A.  Jay. 

The  site  occupied  during  a  part  of  the  last  century  by  Florence's 
Hotel,  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Walker  street,  was  Ihe  beginning  of  the 
permanent  improvement  on  the  block  between  Walker  and  Canal  streets, 
George  Bruce  afterward  improving  the  corner  of  the  latter  street.  Many 
buildings  of  a  public  character  were  later  erected  in  this  neighborhood — the 
Minerva  Rooms,  at  No.  404;  Enterprise  Hall,  at  No.  410,  and  the  Apollo 
Gallery,  at  No.  412.  Before  the  opening  of  the  last  century  the  west  side  of 
the  thoroughfare  in  this  locality  had  twenty-two  houses,  beginning  with  the 
public  house  and  garden  of  Conrad  Vanderbeck,  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  Duane  street,  and  ending  with  the  tannery  of  Thomas  Duggan,  near  the 
stone  bridge  which  was  afterward  the  line  of  Canal  street. 


iqS  cradle    days    of    new    YORK. 

The  White  Conduit  House  had  a  history  all  its  ov/n.  It  was  one  of  the 
old  city's  suburban  gardens,  and  stood  on  the  top  of  the  Kalckhook  hill 
before  Broadway  was  cut  through,  with  an  extensive  view  from  its  high 
stoop  of  the  surrounding  country.  It  was  the  scene  of  many  quiet  gather- 
ings of  the  middle  class  citizens,  it  appears,  until  near  the  beginning  of 
the  year  1800.  It  occupied  what  is  now  the  west  side  of  Broadway,  between 
Leonard  and  Worth  streets. 

Another  public  garden  may  also  be  mentioned,  which  stood  near  Leon- 
ard street  in  1796,  and  was  kept  by  a  Frenchman,  M.  Corri,  a  pioneer  seller 
of  mead  and  cakes  on  the  Battery,  who  afterward  obtained  the  permission 
of  the  corporation  to  illumine  his  stand  with  colored  lamps — a  novelty  to 
the  citizens  of  the  old  town.  In  1805  it  was  known  as  Mount  Vernon  Gar- 
den, and,  not  having  been  displaced  by  the  cutting  through  of  the  street, 
stood  high  above  the  neighboring  structures.  Flying  horses  and  other 
amusements  were  furnished  by  M.  Corri  to  his  patrons.  It  was  near  this 
house  that  John  H.  Contoit,  in  1809,  established  his  second  New  York 
Garden,  after  leaving  the  site  opposite  the  park.  Its  plain  wooden  entrance 
was  overshadowed  with  trees,  and  inside  were  shady  nooks,  dimly  lit  by 
colored  lanterns.  An  old  New  Yorker  says:  "Many  a  match  was  made  in 
these  old  gardens,  v/hich  to-day  would  seem  to  the  eye  but  the  acme  of 
rural  simplicity,  but  to  the  older  city  offered  all  that  was  enjoyable  on  a 
moonlight  night  in  the  island  of  Manhattan."  The  famous  Taylor's  restau- 
rant, frequented  by  all  the  society  belles  of  the  day,  stood  on  the  north 
corner  of  Franklin  street  in  the  early  forties. 

Up  to  1815  the  limit  of  improvements  of  Broadway  was  the  section 
written  of.  Five  years  afterward,  however,  the  street  was  almost  entirely 
lined  with  a  fair  class  of  buildings,  which  remained  until  the  middle  of 
1800.  The  introduction  of  gas  south  of  Canal  street  in  1825  gave  an  im- 
petus to  business  in  the  thoroughfare.  At  this  period  its  west  side  was 
extensively  patronized  as  the  fashionable  shopping  mart,  and  many  of  the 
dry  goods  stores  had  been  transferred  from  the  section  below  St.  Paul's 
Church,  and  were  following  the  population  which  was  filling  up  the  cross 
streets  below  Canal  street,  so  that  it  became  the  busy  part  of  the  city. 

The  one  thing  that  causes  the  delver  into  the  city's  history  more  con- 
cern than  any  other  is  the  inactivity  displayed'  by  the  citizens  of  old  New 
York  in  the  draining  of  the  Fresh  Water  Pond  and  filling  up  the  meadows 
extending  to  the  North  River. 

Soon  after  the  Revolution  measures  were  taken  for  the  improvement, 
and  commissioners  were  appointed  under  an  act  of  the  legislature,  but  it 
was  wen  on  to  1810  when  a  street  one  hundred  feet  wide  was  formed,  with 
a  ditch  or  open  canal  in  its  centre,  bordered  with  shade  trees,  and  on  either 
side  a  broad  drive  lined  with  habitations.  No  puzzle  half  so  formid- 
able as  the  proper  course  to  be  pursued  with  the  swamp  in  this  region  was 
encountered  by  the  corporation.  Broadway  was  graded  below  the  stone 
bridge,  and  for  some  distance  above.  Spring  street  was  even  marked  out 
and  houses  built  in  certain  parts  of  it,  and  yet  nothing  but  a  small,  slug- 
gish stream  of  water  marked  the  site  of  the  present  Canal  street.  At  some 
seasons  of  the  year  the  Lispenard  Meadows  were  overflowed  with  water, 
and  in  winter  they  were  used  as  a  skating  pond  by  the  sport  loving  citizens. 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  199 

Scheme  after  scheme  was  proposed  to  drain  them,  but  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury had  well  advanced  before  any  of  them  were  put  into  operation  and  the 
work  was  completed. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  the  stone  bridge  which  crossed  the  drain 
at  Canal  street  and  Broadway  was  built  by  the  authorities  of  the  city.  In 
no  record,  however,  is  mention  made  of  any  action  by  them  in  the  premises. 
It  was  of  a  very  substantial  character,  and  the  first  evidence  of  its  existence 
is  a  map  executed  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  leading  to  the  belief 
that  it  was  constructed  for  military  purposes,  as  there  were  extensive 
fortifications  on  each  side  of  it,  on  the  Kalckhook  and  on  Bayard's  farm. 

The  Middle  Road,  as  Broadway  above  Canal  street  was  commonly 
known  before  its  regulation  as  far  as  Astor  Place  in  1809,  was  not  wholly 
unimproved  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  last  century.  Several  adventur- 
ous pioneers,  despite  the  protests  of  the  inhabitants,  erected  a  few  one  and 
two  story  houses  on  it,  the  oldest  standing  at  what  is  now  the  corner  of 
Grand  street,  and  becoming  in  later  years  the  site  of  the  Broadway  House. 
The  regulation  of  this  thoroughfare  above  the  stone  bridge  to  Astor  Place, 
which  was  originally  the  line  of  a  road  leading  from  the  hamlet  called  "the 
Bowery,"  from  its  vicinity  to  Governor  Stuyvesant's  farm,  to  Sapokanican, 
or  Greenwich,  was  a  matter  of  grave  concern  to  the  citizens,  chiefly  from 
the  difficulties  arising  out  of  the  discordant  action  respecting  the  plan  of 
regulating  Canal  street,  and  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  owners  of  land, 
who  even  at  that  day  were  considering  how  its  value  could  be  increased  by 
accepting  certain  city  improvements.  The  greater  part  of  the  land  lying 
east  and  west  between  the  present  Astor  Place  and  the  meadows  at  Canal 
street  was  what  was  known  as  the  Bayard  farms,  their  dividing  line  being 
the  middle  of  Broadway.  The  portion  to  the  west  extended  from  the 
meadows  to  near  Bleecker  street,  and  the  eastern  portion  to  a  point  between 
Prince  and  Houston  streets.  North  of  the  west  farm  v/as  the  Herring  estate, 
and  of  the  east,  adjoining  a  small  tract  of  land  belonging  to  Alderman  Dyck- 
man,  was  the  Anthony  L.  Bleecker  farm,  through  which  the  street  of  that 
name  was  afterward  run.  The  Bayard  farm  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  the 
Bowery  and  on  the  west  by  an  irregular  line  extending  to  Macdougal  street. 
In  1751  its  owner,  Nicholas  Bayard,  erected  his  Mansion  House  on  this 
farm,  at  what  is  now  the  block  bounded  by  Grand,  Broome,  Crosby  and  Elm 
streets,  and  established  an  avenue  called  Bayard's  Lane,  which  led  up  to 
the  house,  the  entrance  gate  being  at  the  Bowery  Road.  The  present  Broome 
street  is  laid  out  on  nearly  the  same  line.  The  property  was  cut  up  by 
military  works  during  the  war,  defensive  lines  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city 
running  across  Jt.  After  the  close  of  the  Revolution  its  owner  found  him- 
self financially  embarrassed,  it  is  said,  and  mortgaged  the  west  farm,  which 
contained  one  hundred  acres,  for  £7,000.  This  was  afterward  placed  in  the 
hands  of  trustees,  who  divided  it  into  parcels  of  various  sizes  and  sold  them. 

At  a  point  on  Broadway  near  the  present  Spring  street  was  the  junc- 
tion of  two  private  lanes  through  the  Bayard  farm,  one  of  which  led  south- 
westerly to  the  North  River  shore  at  Lispenard's  Meadows,  and  the  other 
in  a  westerly  course,  terminating  near  Richmond  Hill.  At  the  present 
Third  street  was  another  lane,  which  led  from  the  Bowery  to  Richmond 
Hill,  along  the  southerly  side  of  the  Herring  land. 


200  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

The  Middle  Road  in  1802  was  ordered  surveyed  from  Canal  street  to  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  present  Prince  street,  and  the  Street  Commissioner 
was  directed  to  report  as  to  "the  best  method  of  turnpiking  it."  He  recom- 
mended that  it  be  paved  forty  feet  wide,  with  sidewalks  ten  feet  wide,  and 
that  a  row  of  trees  be  planted  on  each  side,  ten  feet  apart.  While  this  plan 
was  at  first  adopted,  it  was  afterward  repealed  on  account  of  the  hesitancy 
of  the  authorities  regarding  the  improving  of  Canal  street.  Some  regulating 
of  the  street  was  carried  out,  however,  a  short  time  afterward,  and  in  1805 
the  recommendations  of  the  Commissioner  were  put  in  force,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  the  improvements  were  extended  to  Great  Jones  street.  The  next 
year  saw  them  carried  as  far  as  Art  street,  the  present  Astor  Place.  The 
laying  of  pavements  and  construction  of  sidewalks  soon  followed,  so  that  by 
November,  1809,  the  corporation  was  in  a  position  to  accept  the  offer  of 
Samuel  Burling,  one  of  the  citizens,  to  furnish  as  many  poplar  trees  as 
might  be  necessary  to  line  Broadway  from  Leonard  street  to  Art  street,  pro- 
vided they  would  move  and  set  them  without  expense  to  him.  Property 
owners  were  also  anxious  to  add  to  the  beauty  of  the  street,  which  was 
considered  the  pride  of  the  city,  and  offered  to  supply  carts  to  move  the 
trees,  so  that  in  a  short  time  Broadway  became  renowned  both  as  a  dwelling 
and  business  locality,  and  remained  so  until  the  young  city  tore  away  the 
barriers  and  pushed  further  north. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 


(1802-1816.) 


Academy  of  Fine  Arts  Founded — City  Comptroller  Appointed — Period  of 

Duelling — Yellow   Fever   Scourge — Death   of   Alexander    Hamilton — 

Founding  of  New  York  Historical  Society  and  Musical  Society. 

Though  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century  saw  an  obstinate  po- 
litical struggle  for  the  supremacy  of  a  national  party  being  fought  in  the 
city,  the  growth  of  New  York  was  still  on  the  increase.  In  rapid  ratio  its 
inhabitants  and  institutions  multiplied,  the  former  numbering  60,000. 
Shipping  was  also  increasing,  the  leases  of  the  wharves,  piers  and  slips 
bringing  to  the  treasury  of  the  city  between  $12,000  and  $13,000  a  year. 
On  February  12,  1802,  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  was  founded  by  Chancellor 
Livingston,  and  a  suite  of  rooms  for  exhibition  purposes  was  opened  in  the 
old  government  house  facing  the  Bowling  Green.  In  after  years  it  was 
located  in  the  New  York  Institution,  in  Chambers  street,  a  free  lease  having 
been  given  to  the  society  by  the  city.  Through  Chancellor  Livingston  a 
collection  of  pictures  was  presented  to  it  by  the  First  Consul  of  the  French 
Republic,  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 

This  month  the  city  was  in  a  political  ferment.  The  returns  of  the 
electoral  votes  had  shown  the  triumph  of  the  Republican  ticket,  but  an 
equal  number  had  been  received  by  Jefferson  and  Burr,  which  was  any- 
thing but  agreeable  to  the  party.  The  decision  rested  upon  the  House  of 
Representatives,  voting  by  States.  There  were  sixteen  then  in  the  Union, 
and  a  majority  of  these  was  necessary  to  a  choice.  For  seven  days  the  bal- 
loting went  on,  and  on  the  thirty-sixth  Jefferson  was  found  to  have  received 
the  votes  of  ten  States,  while  four  adhered  to  Burr  and  two  cast  blank  bal- 
lots. Jefferson  was  thereupon  declared  President,  and  Burr,  by  law,  became 
Vice-President.  On  March  4  the  bells  of  the  city  were  rung  in  honor  of  the 
event. 

In  April  the  New  York  election  for  Governor  occurred,  and  was  spirited 
and  rancorous.  Rumors  were  circulated  that  thousands  of  tenants  on  the 
Van  Rensselaer  estates  were  to  be  prosecuted  for  non-payment  of  rents 
unless  they  voted  for  the  owner.  The  stories  were  denied,  though  they  had 
the  desired  effect.  His  opponent,  Clinton,  was  chosen  by  more  than  4,000 
majority.  In  August  of  this  year  Edward  Livingston  was  appointed  Mayor 
of  the  city,  a  post  at  this  time  of  great  dignity  and  importance,  as  he  not 
only  presided  over  the  deliberations  of  the  Common  Council,  but  was  the 
presiding  judge  of  a  high  court  of  record,  with  both  civil  and  criminal  juris- 
diction. Liberal  fees  and  perquisites  and  a  few  years'  incumbency  tended  to 
the  acquiring  of  a  handsome  fortune  in  the  office. 

201 


202  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

Many  things  of  interest  occurred  during  1801,  among  them  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  United  States  Navy  Yard  in  Brooklyn,  and  of  a  ferry  be- 
tween "Hurlgate"  and  Hallett's  Cove;  also  the  sale  of  fifteen  lots  of  the 
common  land  for  $8,050,  "and  the  ordering  Broadway  to  be  continued  and 
opened  through  Thomas  Randall's  land  to  meet  the  Bowery  road."  The 
total  valuation  of  the  city  and  county  at  this  time  was  $21,964,037,  and  a 
tax  of  one  mill  on  the  dollar  was  laid.  A  City  Comptroller  was  appointed, 
and  the  piers,  beginning  at  the  Battery  and  going  east  and  north,  were 
numbered. 

The  year  1802  foreshadowed  an  event  in  history  known  to  the  student. 
The  hollow  position  of  Vice-President  was  unsatisfactory  to  Aaron  Burr, 
and  he  saw  many  obstacles  to  his  becoming  the  next  Republican  President. 
He  was  using  every  means  to  create  a  party  of  his  own,  so  as  to  be  an  inde- 
pendent power  in  politics.  Through  him  dissatisfaction  was  increasing  and 
party  strife  was  apparently  solidly  imbedded.  Duels  were  the  order  of  the 
day  between  his  friends  and  those  who  opposed  him.  One  of  these  took 
place  at  Weehawken  between  George  L.  Backer,  a  partisan  of  Burr,  and  a 
friend  of  the  eldest  son  of  Alexander  Hamilton  named  Price;  another 
between  young  Hamilton  and  Backer,  from  the  wounds  received  in  which 
Hamilton  died,  and  another  in  Love  Lane  (Twenty-first  street)  between  the 
brother  of  Jeremiah  Thompson,  once  Collector  of  the  Port,  and  William 
Coleman,  editor  of  "The  Bvening  Post,"  which  about  this  time  first  made 
its  bow  to  the  public.  Indeed,  it  seemed  to  be  a  period  of  duelling.  A  Board 
of  Health  was  established  in  1802,  as  was  also  a  Vaccine,  or  Kine  Pock, 
Institution,  the  first  of  the  kind  in  the  city. 

In  1803  Edward  Livingston  resigned  the  oflice  of  Mayor,  and  De  Witt 
Clinton  was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  The  latter  had  been  a  resident  of 
the  city  from  early  youth,  and  had  the  honor  of  being  the  first  graduate  of 
Columbia  College  after  its  change  of  name.  The  Historical  Society  was 
founded  under  his  auspices  and  the  Public  School  Society  was  instituted 
by  him.  He  held  office  for  twelve  years,  when  he  resigned,  and  afterward 
became  Governor  to  mature  the  gigantic  scheme  of  canal  navigation. 

An  appalling  visitation  of  yellow  fever  about  the  middle  of  the  year 
spread  consternation  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  city,  and 
so  great  and  universal  was  the  public  alarm  that  all  who  could  leave  the 
city  fled  to  places  of  safety.  Mayor  Livingston,  who  had  not  resigned  at 
the  time,  remained  at  his  post,  bound,  as  he  declared,  by  a  sacred  contract: 
to  face  the  terrible  enemy  and  alleviate  suffering  to  the  extent  of  his 
power.  He  went  about  the  streets  at  night  to  see  if  the  watchmen  were 
doing  their  duty,  and  visited  the  hospitals  every  day,  his  presence  encour- 
aging the  nurses  and  physicians.  In  the  latter  part  of  September  he 
succumbed  to  the  fever,  but  recovered  after  a  severe  illness,  the  news- 
papers announcing  the  fact  and  the  whole  city  hailing  it  with  joy.  During 
his  illness  and  while  the  pestilence  was  raging  his  confidential  clerk  em- 
bezzled a  large  portion  of  the  public  funds,  and  he  found  himself  indebted 
to  the  United  States,  without  means  to  liquidate  the  debt.  He  bravely  sur- 
rendered all  his  property  for  the  security  of  the  government  and  then  re- 
signed. From  July  26  to  the  end  of  November  670  died  from  fever.  The 
Merchants'  Bank  began  operations  this  year,  and  some  time  after  the  stock- 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  203 

holders  presented  to  the  State  one  thousand  of  its  shares  as  a  fund  for  the 
support  of  public  schools. 

The  political  storm  that  had  been  brewing  in  New  York  from   1801 
broke  in  March,  1804.     In  February  of  the  latter  year  Jefferson  was  unan- 
imously chosen  for  re-election,  and  Clinton  was  substituted  for  Burr  as  the 
Vice-Presidential   candidate.      The   latter,   finding   himself   left   out  of   the 
national  nomination,  resolved  to  seek  the  nomination  for  Governor  of  New 
York  through  an  appeal  to  the  people.     His  supporters  had  become  a  recog- 
nized power  in  the  State,  and  announced  him  as  an  independent  candidate 
against  Judge  Morgan  Lewis,  the  Republican  nominee.     Newspaper  person- 
alities became  rampant  on  both  sides,  and  Burr's  private  character  was  as- 
sailed in  the   most  obnoxious   manner  up   to   the   day  of  election.      Much 
exultation  existed  among  his  supporters  when  it  was  found  that  he  had 
received  a  majority  of  nearly  100  votes  in  the  city,  but  it  was  short  lived 
when  the  returns  from  the  country  showed  a  clear  defeat  of  Burr  and  the 
election  of  Lewis.     The  former  attributed  his  defeat  mainly  to  the  powerful 
influence  of  Hamilton,  especially  as  in  one  of  two  letters  published  during 
election  times,  from  the  pen  of  Dr.   Charles  D.  Cooper,  General  Hamilton 
said:     "Burr  is  a  dangerous  man  and  one  who  ought  not  to  be  trusted  with 
the  reins  of  government."     The  purport  of  these  letters  came  under  Burr's 
notice  some  weeks  after  the  election,  and  the  duel  of  July  11,  1804,  with 
which  every  student  is  familiar,  was  the  result.     The  news  of  the  wounding 
of  Hamilton  stunned  the  entire  city  and  business  was  practically  suspended. 
With  the  announcement  of  his  death  "a  cry  of  execration  upon  his  mur- 
derer burst  from  the  lips  and  hearts  of  the  multitude." 

It  was  a  sorrowful  city  that  witnessed  Hamilton's  funeral.  The  cere- 
monies attending  it  were  conducted  by  the  Cincinnati,  whose  chief  the  dead 
statesman  had  been,  and  the  oration  was  made  by  Gouverneur  Morris. 
When  the  parting  volley  had  been  fired  over  his  grave  the  vast  crowd 
which  had  attended  the  services  in  Old  Trinity  carried  to  their  homes  a 
sense  of  profound  sorrow  and  bereavement.  With  the  death  of  Hamilton, 
Burr  ceased  to  be  a  political  leader,  and  on  March  2,  v/hen  he  took  formal 
leave  of  the  Senate,  vanished  from  the  arena  of  politics,  never  to  reappear. 
The  great  fire  in  this  year  occurred  on  the  night  of  December  18, 
breaking  out  in  a  grocery  store  in  Front  street.  "The  whole  block  from  the 
west  side  of  Coffee  House  Slip,  in  Water  street,  to  the  next  door  to  Gouver- 
neur's  lane,  and  including  all  the  buildings  in  Front  street  to  the  water, 
were  swept  away.  The  fire  crossed  Wall  street  and  destroyed  the  buildings 
on  the  east  side  of  the  slip.  About  forty  stores  and  dwelling  houses  were 
consumed,  entailing  a  loss  of  about  $1,500,000.  The  fire  was  supposed  to 
have  been  the  work  of  eleven  combined  incendiaries,  from  an  anonymous 
letter  sent  to  a  merchant  previous  to  the  event." 

"A  priceless  inheritance  to  all  future  generations,"  the  founding  of 
the  New  York  Historical  Society,  was  given  to  the  city  on  the  afternoon  of 
November  20,  1804,  through  the  instrumentality  of  Judge  Egbert  Benson 
and  John  Pintard.  Its  foundation  was  laid  in  the  picture  I'oom  of  the  City 
Hall,  in  Wall  street,  and  active  measures  were  at  once  taken  to  secure 
books,  manuscripts,  letters,  documents,  statistics  and  newspapers  relating 
directly  or  remotely  to  American  history,  and  pictures,  antiquities,  medals, 


204  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

coins  and  specimens  of  natural  history.  The  association  soon  grew  in  favor, 
and  its  numbers  increased  slowly  but  steadily  as  the  work  went  on  of  ran- 
sacking garrets  and  trunks  in  the  city  for  letters,  papers  and  documents 
which  had  been  cast  aside  as  worthless,  and  which  were  records  and  data 
of  the  city's  history.  By  action  of  the  legislature  the  archives  of 
France,  Holland  and  England  were  examined,  and  important  and  long  lost 
documents  of  value  to  the  State  government  were  unearthed.  Indeed,  the 
work  of  the  society  will  challenge  comparison  with  institutions  of  similar 
character  fostered  by  older  civilizations. 

The  New  York  Historical  Society  occupied  its  first  meeting  place  from 
1804  to  1809,  and  was  then  removed  to  the  Government  House,  opposite  the 
Bowling  Green,  which  it  occupied  until  1816.  In  this  year  it  found  quarters 
in  the  New  York  Institution,  remaining  until  1841,  when  it  removed  to  the 
New  York  University.  In  1857,  after  struggling  with  pecuniary  difficulties 
and  coming  out  triumphant,  it  celebrated  its  fifty-third  anniversary  by 
taking  possession  of  a  building  on  the  corner  of  Eleventh  street  and  Second 
avenue.  Its  present  home  is  170  Central  Park  West.  It  is  an  institution 
worthy  of  its  founders,  and  New  York  should  be  ever  grateful  to  those  who 
carry  on  the  work,  as  they  represent  the  highest  culture  of  the  city. 

The  subject  of  common  schools  engrossed  the  attention  of  the  citizens 
in  1805.  New  York  had  not  been  entirely  destitute  of  the  means  of  educat- 
ing her  youth,  however,  up  to  this  time,  for  opportunity  had  been  afforded 
for  universal  education.  Nearly  every  church  aided  in  this  matter,  and 
private  schools  abounded.  In  this  year  one  hundred  and  forty  teachers  were 
actively  employed.  Measures  were  necessary  for  the  establishing  of  a  per- 
manent system  of  education,  as  the  population  was  increasing  rapidly,  and 
the  incoming  European  multitudes  were  in  danger  of  growing  up  hopelessly 
ignorant.  Members  of  the  Historical  Society  saw  the  drift  of  affairs,  and 
on  February  19  a  meeting  was  called  at  the  house  of  John  Murray,  in  Pearl 
street,  and  a  society  was  organized.  The  result  was  the  institution  of  a 
free  school,  independent  of  and  in  nowise  interfering  with  the  schools 
already  provided  by  churches,  corporations  and  charitable  bodies.  In  May, 
1806,  the  first  school  was  opened  in  Madison  street. 

"The  first  two  months  of  the  year  saw  great  distress  among  the  people 
of  the  city.  Great  quantities  of  snow  encumbered  the  streets,  and  extraor- 
dinary expenses  were  incurred  by  the  corporation  and  by  benevolent  people 
in  relieving  the  wants  of  the  poor."  A  ferry  between  Corlears  Hook  and 
Bushwick  was  established,  and  Norfolk,  Essex,  Fourth  and  Hester  streets 
were  ordered  regulated  and  paved,  North  street  was  opened  to  the  East 
River  and  the  upper  part  of  Broadway  was  also  ordered  paved.  In  March 
the  bells  of  the  city  rang  out  and  military  parades  took  place  in  honor  of 
the  second  inauguration  of  Jefferson  as  President.  The  Tammany  Society, 
or  Columbian  Order,  and  the  New  England  Society  were  formed  in  1805. 

"This  [1805]  summer  and  autumn  the  yellow  fever  again  prevailed, 
and  one-third  of  the  citizens  left  their  dwellings.  Over  280  persons  died. 
December  18  was  given  over  to  a  day  of  humiliation  and  prayer  for  the 
recent  visitation." 

Coal,  that  necessity  of  the  cultivated  and  uncultivated,  was  the  subject 
of  concern  in  the  meeting  of  the  corporation  on  July  29.     "A  premium  of 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK.  20^ 

$500  was  offered  by  it  for  the  first  quantity  of  good  pit  coals,  not  less  than 
ten  chaldrons,  which  shall  be  brought  to  this  city,  having  been  taken  from 
any  pit  or  mine  in  this  State,  within  ten  miles  of  the  seashore,  or  of  any 
part  of  Hudson  River,  below  the  town  of  Waterford,  in  the  county  of  Sara- 
toga." 

The  year  1806  is  memorable  for  the  first  successful  attempt  at  steam- 
boat navigation,  a  full  history  of  which  has  been  given,  and 
for  the  establishment  of  the  New  York  County  Medical  Society  and  the 
founding  of  the  Orphan  Asylum  Society,  at  Greenwich,  under  the  auspices 
of  Mrs.  Sarah  Hoffman,  Mrs.  Alexander  Hamilton  and  Mrs.  Bethune,  wife 
of  the  celebrated  divine,  author  and  poet.  The  first  building  of  the  society 
stood  in  Bank  street  until  1840,  when  a  new  site  was  purchased  in  West 
Seventy-fourth  street.  On  April  7  "the  corporation  recommended  the  citi- 
zens to  plant  trees  in  all  the  streets  forty  feet  wide,  the  trees  to  be  not  less 
than  twelve  feet  apart,"  and  ordered  the  regulation  of  Rivington  street  and 
the  changing  of  the  name  of  Bullock  street  to  Broome,  after  Lieutenant 
Governor  Broome.  The  wharves,  piers  and  slips  were  let  this  year  to 
William  Johnson  for  $17,000  a  year,  and  "a  sale  of  corporation  lands  took 
place  at  Incklenbergh  (Murray  Hill),  of  59  half-acre  lots,  for  $61,990, 
subject  each  to  an  annual  rent  forever  of  twenty  bushels  of  wheat." 

Some  things  of  interest  occurred  during  this  period  which  should  not 
be  passed  over.  A  literary  fair  was  held  every  year,  either  In  New  York  or 
Philadelphia,  in  order  to  promote  acquaintance  of  publishers  and  to  encour- 
age the  art  of  printing  and  bookbinding,  also  to  facilitate  the  circulation  of 
books  through  the  country.  England's  high  taxes  and  her  higher  price  of 
paper  were  favorable  to  the  American  publisher,  in  that  celebrated  works 
of  Old  World  authors  were  reprinted  and  sold  for  one-fourth  the  original 
price.  The  demand  for  these  was  such  that  the  publishers  themselves 
established  circulating  libraries.  "There  was  no  dearth  of  literary  talent  In 
the  city,"  said  an  historian,  "but  it  had  been  almost  exclusively  directed  to 
political  subjects  and  to  organizing  theories  and  testing  untried  institu- 
tions." The  trepidation  of  one  publisher,  when  the  reprinting  of  Scott's 
"Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel"  was  being  considered,  is  amusing  now.  A  volume 
had  been  sent  by  the  author  to  the  wife  of  a  noted  divine  in  the  city.  It 
was  circulated  widely,  and  an  American  reprint  was  suggested.  The  pub- 
lisher who  was  spoken  to  called  together  a  number  of  literary  experts,  who 
pronounced  the  poem  "too  local  in  its  nature  and  its  interest  obsolete.  It 
was  without  the  harmony  of  the  tuneful  Pope."  It  was  rejected,  but  was 
printed  shortly  afterward  by  a  more  farseeing  publisher. 

Toward  the  middle  of  1807  news  reached  the  city  of  the  capture  of 
Aaron  Burr  and  his  trial  for  treason  in  Richmond,  Va.  Much  excitement 
was  caused,  but  New  York  was  well  represented  at  the  trial,  which  resulted 
in  his  acquittal  because  of  the  difficulty  of  the  prosecution  in  proving  overt 
acts.  Burr  came  to  New  York  and  lay  concealed  in  the  houses  of  friends 
until,  under  an  assumed  name  and  with  money  borrowed  for  his  passage, 
he  sailed  for  Europe. 

War's  alarums  resounded  through  the  country  at  the  end  of  1807,  when 
Congress  passed  a  bill  prohibiting  American  vessels  from  sailing  for  foreign 
ports,  and  all  foreign  vessels  from  taking  out  cargoes.    All  coasting  vessels 


2o6  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

were  required  to  give  bonds  to  land  tlieir  cargoes  in  the  United  States.  Im- 
portant measures  were  adopted  for  ttie  defense  of  the  city.  The  old  Potter's 
Field,  at  the  junction  of  the  Bloomingdale  and  Post  roads  (Madison 
Square),  was  ceded  to  the  national  government,  which  erected  an  arsenal 
upon  it;  also  ground  "under  water  400  feet,"  on  which  the  Castle  Garden, 
off  the  Battery,  was  soon  after  erected.  The  batteries  at  the  foot  of  Hubert 
street  and  Fort  Gansevoort  were  also  established.  The  city  suffered  severely 
from  the  embargo.  The  trade  of  the  whole  world  was  interdicted.  Ware- 
houses were  in  many  instances  closed  and  ships  lay  idly  at  anchor.  The 
farmer  was  badly  affected,  as  he  had  no  market  for  his  produce,  and  to  sell 
meant  a  great  reduction  in  price.  Measures  were  being  taken  by  the  na- 
tional government  to  remedy  the  condition  of  affairs,  but  without  effect, 
and  so  it  continued  until  1809,  when  Jefferson  consented  to  a  compromise, 
and  non-intercourse  was  substituted  for  embargo,  all  nations  except  France 
and  Great  Britain  being  relieved  from  the  arbitrary  provisions  of  the  former 
act.     Business  began  to  revive. 

Marinus  Willett  v/as  Mayor  in  1807,  and  during  his  term  many  im- 
provements were  inaugurated.  One  of  these,  and  the  most  important,  was 
the  adoption  of  a  plan  of  the  future  city,  to  v/hich  we  owe  the  parallel 
streets  and  broad  avenues  of  the  upper  part  of  the  island,  in  contrast  to  the 
crooked  lanes  of  the  downtown  locality.  The  whole  island  to  Kingsbridge 
was  laid  out  and  surveyed  by  commissioners  appointed  by  the  legislature, 
Gouverneur  Morris,  De  Witt  Clinton  and  others.  The  streets,  beginning 
with  the  first  oh  the  east  side  of  the  Bowery,  above  Houston  street,  were 
numbered  upward  to  the  extreme  end  of  the  island.  Twelve  avenues  inter- 
sected these,  and  were  numbered  westvv'ard  from  First  avenue,  the  continu- 
ation of  Allen  street,  to  Twelfth  avenue  (there  is  now  a  Thirteenth  ave- 
nue), on  the  shores  of  the  North  River.  When  avenues  were  afterward 
laid  out  to  the  eastward  of  the  former  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  were  used 
to  designate  them.  Public  parks  for  the  adornment  of  the  city  were  made 
from  the  squares  and  triangles  which  were  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
thoroughfares.  Everything  was  done  to  make  every  inch  of  the  island 
habitable. 

Hampering  these  improvements  were  the  war  threats  of  England  and 
France.  On  March  1,  1809,  the  embargo,  as  was  mentioned  before,  was 
removed  by  Congress,  and  a  system  of  non-intercourse  was  substituted.  In 
August  non-intercourse  with  England  was  again  proclaimed,  while  in  the 
following  March  commercial  intercourse  was  renewed  with  the  French 
nation.  England  continued  her  aggressions,  and  stationed  ships  of  war 
before  the  American  ports,  to  intercept  the  outward  bound  vessels  and  take 
possession  of  them  as  lawful  prizes.  As  no  satisfaction  was  to  be  obtained 
from  the  British  government,  Congress  resolved  to  bring  matters  to  a 
head,  and  on  May  19  the  President  proclaimed  war  against  Great  Britain. 
This  declaration  caused  the  city  to  retrograde  for  a  time  in  population  and 
wealth.     The  history  of  the  war  is  well  known  to  every  reader. 

When  tranquillity  was  restored  the  population  of  the  city,  according 
to  the  census  taken  in  1814,  was  over  92,000,  including  nearly  1,000  negro 
slaves.  The  hum  of  industry  began  to  be  heard  on  every  side,  and  New 
York  commerce  girded  herself  for  peaceful  battle  with  other  countries.  The 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    XEIV     YORK. 


207 


war  had  interrupted  public  improvements,  but  with  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  of  peace  on  February  17,  1815,  leading  citizens  began  to  urge  the 
city  forward  on  her  career  of  prosperity.  The  19th  of  the  month  was  set 
apart  for  thanksgiving  by  the  various  churches,  and  on  the  22d  "a  brilliant 
and  costly  display  of  fireworks  took  place,  when  the  City  Hall  and  all  in- 
habited dwellings"  were  illuminated.  Shortly  after  a  "superb  ball"  was 
given  in  honor  of  the  joyful  peace.  And  so  the  old  city  started  out  to  re- 
habilitate herself  and  become  again  powerful. 

The  following  year  was  memorable  among  commercial  men  for  the 
enormous  importation  of  merchandise  of  every  description  from  Europe. 
Through  it  a  new  impulse  was  given  to  business.  It  is  also  memorable  as 
the  year  in  which  the  commissioners  of  the  Erie  Canal  were  appointed  and 
as  the  year  in  which  was  adopted  the  immortal  recommendation  of  Gover- 
nor Tompkins — that  slavery  should  cease  forever  in  the  State  of  New  York 
on  July  4.  1827. 


CHAPTER  Xin. 


(1817-1825.) 


First  Line  of  Packet  Ships  Established — Arrival  of  the  Great  Eastern— ^ 
Body  of  General  Montgomery  Transferred — Reception  to  Lafayette 
— Organization  of  First  Savings  Bank. 

Two  events  of  importance  were  evolved  in  1817.  One  may  be  said  to 
have  been  foreshadowed  from  the  start  of  the  city  by  the  fact  that  ample 
channels  of  communication  with  the  interior  by  water  existed,  and  the 
other  to  have  been  the  result  of  a  demand  for  the  extension  of  a  great  busi- 
ness already  soundly  established.  The  first  of  these  events  was  the  forming 
by  Isaac  Wright  &  Son,  Francis  Thompson,  Benjamin  Marshall  and  Jere- 
miah Thompson  of  the  first  regular  line  of  packet  ships  to  Liverpool,  known 
as  the  "Black  Ball  Line,"  which  sailed  regularly  on  the  first  day  of  every 
month  throughout  the  year.  They  were  named  the  Pacific,  the  Amity,  the 
William  Thompson  and  the  James  Cropper,  and  were  vessels  of  between 
400  and  500  tons — large  ships  as  ships  went  in  those  days.  Four  years 
later  a  second  line,  the  Red  Star,  was  established  by  Byrnes,  Trimble  &  Co., 
with  four  ships,  the  Manhattan,  the  Hercules,  the  Panthea  and  the  Meteor, 
which  sailed  on  the  24th  of  each  month.  The  business  of  the  country  was 
in  an  unusually  flourishing  condition  at  this  time,  and  the  competitive 
instinct  forced  the  Black  Ball  Line  to  add  four  more  ships,  to  sail  on  the 
16th  of  each  month.  A  little  later  the  Swallow  Tail  Line  was  established  by 
Messrs.  Fish,  Grinnell  &  Co.  and  Thaddeus  Phelps  &  Co.  Four  ships  were 
in  this  service,  sailing  on  the  8th  of  each  month.  Thus,  communication 
was  established  between  New  York  and  Liverpool  by  a  fleet  of  sixteen 
vessels,  making  from  each  end  of  the  line  weekly  departures  the  year 
round. 

The  honor  of  first  demonstrating  the  feasibility  of  navigating  the 
ocean  by  steam  belongs  to  this  country,  as  in  1819  the  Savannah,  of  300 
tons,  which  had  been  built  the  previous  year  in  one  of  New  York  City's 
shipyards,  sailed  from  here  to  the  city  in  Georgia  for  which  she  was  named. 
Two  months  later,  on  May  26,  she  left  Savannah  direct  for  Liverpool, 
accomplishing  the  trip  in  twenty-two  days.  The  sensation  she  created 
extended  into  court  circles,  and  it  was  suspected  that  her  errand  was  to 
rescue  Napoleon  from  St.  Helena.  From  Liverpool  she  went  to  Copen- 
hagen, and  thence  to  St.  Petersburg  and  to  Norway.  She  returned  to  Savan- 
nah in  twenty-five  days.  It  was  not  until  April  23,  1838,  that  the  first 
English  steamship — if  she  may  be  so  called,  as  she  was  a  sailing  vessel 
fitted  up  as  a  steamer — arrived  at  Jones's  Wharf,  Pier  14,  East  River.  She 
was  named  the  Sirius,  and  sailed  from  Liverpool,  bringing  over  forty-four 

208 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 


209 


passengers.  Her  trip  from  Cork,  at  which  point  she  had  touched,  was  made 
in  fourteen  days.  Three  days  after  her  arrival  the  Great  Western,  the 
first  English  steamship  distinctly  built  as  such,  and  intended  for  the 
American  service,  arrived  in  the  Lower  Bay.  She  had  sailed  from  Bristol 
on  April  8,  and  made  the  trip  in  eighteen  days.  Her  passenger  list  was 
seven  persons.  After  docking  at  Pike  Slip,  she  was  opened  for  inspection  to 
the  public.  It  was  a  great  day  for  the  citizens,  and  the  newspapers  the 
following  morning  had  extended  accounts  of  the  event.  It  was  the  begin- 
ning of  permanent  ocean  steam  navigation.  The  Collins  and  Cunard  lines 
soon  followed,  in  1841,  and  in  less  than  twenty  years  there  were  fifteen 
lines  of  steamships  between  the  two  continents,  forty-six  ships  in  all, 
thirty-seven  of  which  ran  out  of  this  harbor.  The  Collins  Line  met  with 
misfortune,  two  of  its  steamers  being  lost  at  sea,  in  one  of  which,  the 
Arctic,  the  family  of  the  owner  and  nearly  every  one  on  board  perished. 
In  1858  it  was  discontinued. 

The  second  event  of  importance  in  1817  was  the  solidifying  into  a 
legislative  act  of  the  whole  plan  of  the  Erie  Canal  on  April  17.  This 
project  was  an  evolution.  Under  the  presidency  of  General  Philip  Schuyler, 
the  Western  Inland  Lock  Navigation  Company  was  incorporated  in  1792, 
for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  communication  by  canal  to  Seneca  Lake  and 
Lake  Ontario  and  of  improving  the  Mohawk  River.  Later,  at  the  suggestion 
of  Gouverneur  Morris,  a  plan  grander  in  scope  was  considered — the  opening 
of  a  canal  from  the  Hudson  River  to  Lake  Erie.  The  project  was  brought 
before  the  Assembly  in  1808  by  Joshua  Forman,  and  an  appropriation  was 
granted  for  a  preliminary  survey,  which  was  made  by  James  Geddis.  The 
matter  was  dropped  for  a  year,  but  was  revived  in  March,  1810,  Senator 
De  Witt  Clinton  becoming  associated  with  it  and  remaining  its  most  effi- 
cient promoter  until  the  end.  The  war  with  England  and  the  consequent 
disorder  in  the  finances  of  the  country  prevented  the  prosecution  of  the  work 
for  several  years.  On  April  17,  1817,  funds  were  provided  for  its  construc- 
tion, and  nearly  three  months  later  ground  was  broken  at  Rome,  N.  Y.,  on 
the  middle  section.  The  canal  was  opened  for  traffic  in  little  more  than  eight 
years. 

A  great  celebration  took  place  along  the  line  of  the  canal  between  the 
day  of  the  letting  in  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie,  on  October  26,  1825,  and 
the  day  when  Governor  Clinton,  from  the  deck  of  the  Seneca  Chief,  poured 
from  one  of  two  elegant  kegs,  painted  green,  with  gilded  hoops,  fresh  water 
brought  from  Lake  Erie  into  the  salt  water  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  thus 
typifying  the  joining  of  the  inland  and  the  outland  seas,  on  November  4. 
An  extended  account  of  this  celebration  is  given  in  nearly  all  histories,  and 
is  known  to  all  readers.  Shortly  after  the  event  the  corporation  of  New 
York  prepared  and  sent  to  Buffalo  a  superb  keg,  bearing  the  arms  of  the 
city,  over  which  were  the  words  "Neptune's  Return  to  Pan,"  and  containing 
"water  of  the  Atlantic." 

An  interesting  occurrence  in  1817  was  the  seizure  by  the  high  con- 
stable of  the  city  of  a  quantity  of  gunpowder  belonging  to  the  United 
States  which  was  being  carted  through  the  streets  ungviarded  and  im- 
properly packed.  The  government  sued  for  its  return  and  recovered,  but 
the  corporation  appealed  to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  and  its  right 


210  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW    YORK. 

to  seize  was  sustained.  In  this  year  also  "the  Mayor  made  a  report  of  the 
income  and  estate  belonging  to  Captain  Randall's  legacy,  and  called  the 
Sailor's  Snug  Harbor,  as  follows:  Rents  of  ninety-five  lots  and  five  houses, 
$3,523.06;  interest  on  stock  holdings,  $1,660.92;  dividends  on  bank,  fire 
and  Insurance  company  stock,  $1,476.  Total,  $6,659.92."  Those  who  know 
may  compare  this  with  to-day's  income,  and  find  much  that  is  interesting. 
Another  record  is  the  division  of  the  city  into  ten  wards  and  the  change 
of  the  name  of  St.  George  street  to  Franklin  Square.  Likewise,  the  giving 
of  the  streets  east  of  the  Bowery,  from  First  to  Sixth,  the  names  of  Chrystie, 
Forsyth,  Eldridge,  Allen  and  Ludlow,  after  the  names  of  "military  and 
naval  heroes  of  the  late  war." 

On  July  11,  1818,  the  remains  of  General  Richard  Montgomery,  the 
hero  of  Quebec,  were  transferred  from  their  Canadian  resting  place  to  the 
city,  and  deposited  with  military  honors  beneath  the  mural  monument  in 
the  front  of  St.  Paul's  Chapel,  which  had  been  erected  to  his  memory  in 
1776  by  order  of  the  Continental  Congress.  w 

Cadwallader  D.  Colden  was  appointed  Mayor  this  year.  "He  was  indus- 
triously active  in  the  interests  of  humanity  and  viewed  men  and  things 
from  a  philosophical  standpoint."  Through  him  the  Society  for  the  Preven- 
tion of  Pauperism  was  established  in  1818,  and  with  his  aid  the  Asylum  for 
the  Insane  was  begun  at  Manhattanville.  This  institution  was  later  an 
appendage  to  and  under  the  government  of  the  managers  of  the  New  York 
Hospital,  and  received  an  endowment  from  the  State  of  $10,000  a  year  for 
forty-four  years.  The  report  of  the  Mayor  in  November,  1819,  regarding 
the  foreign  emigration  to  the  city  startled  the  people.  He  said  that  during 
the  preceding  twenty  months  18,930  foreigners  had  arrived  in  the  city 
and  been  reported  at  his  office.  They  were  not  all  of  the  desirable  class. 
Many  of  them  were  of  the  lowest  and  most  ignorant,  who  paid  no  particular 
attention  to  laws  of  any  kind,  and  were  satisfied  to  live  in  sheds,  cellars  or 
rookeries.     The  patience  of  the  citizens  was  sorely  tried  for  a  time. 

From  No.  27  Cherry  street,  in  this  city,  in  April,  1818,  was  forwarded 
to  Washington  the  first  flag  in  which  the  stripes  were  not  correspondingly 
Increased  with  incoming  States.  It  was  made  by  the  wife  of  Captain 
Samuel  C.  Reid,  the  hero  of  Fayal.  The  history  of  its  making  is  interesting. 
As  originally  instituted  by  Congress,  June  14,  1777,  the  flag  bore  thirteen 
stars  and  thirteen  stripes.  Pursuant  to  an  act  of  the  same  body  in  1794, 
with  the  admission  of  each  new  State  a  star  and  a  stripe  were  to  be  added 
to  the  flag.  The  increase  in  States  necessarily  lessened  the  width  of  the 
stripes  and  correspondingly  decreased  the  historical  significance  of  the  flag. 
A  new  design  was  proposed  by  the  New  York  Representative  in  the  House, 
Peter  H.  Wendover,  who  had  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  flag  of 
the  United  States  did  not  represent  all  the  States,  and  moved  for  its  altera- 
tion. The  design  which  combined  the  glory  of  the  past  with  the  progress 
of  the  present — the  thirteen  stripes  as  a  memento  of  the  original  Union, 
alternate  red  and  white,  and  a  new  star,  white  on  a  blue  field,  added  when- 
ever a  new  State  v.as  admitted,  to  indicate  the  nation's  growth — was  the 
work  of  Captain  Reid  at  the  suggestion  of  Wendover,  who  succeeded  in 
having  it  adopted  by  Congress  on  April  4,  to  be  effective  from  and  after 
July  4,  1818. 


CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK.  211 

"A  clash  between  the  civil  and  military  power  in  the  city  was  averted 
this  year  by  the  President  of  the  United  States."  Major  General  Winfield 
Scott,  in  command  of  the  military  district  in  which  the  city  was,  with 
headquarters  at  Castle  Clinton  (the  circular  stone  fort  which  stood  in  front 
of  the  Battery),  attempted  to  erect  two  small  offices  on  the  Battery,  one  on 
each  side,  leading  to  the  bridge,  in  violation  of  the  rights  of  the  city  and 
of  the  spirit  of  the  grant  made  to  the  government.  The  citizens  v/ere 
aroused,  and  the  Mayor  called  the  attention  of  the  general  to  the  fact  that 
he  was  violating  their  rights.  Scott  was  obdurate  and  refused  to  be  criti- 
cised. An  appeal  was  made  to  the  President,  and  the  v/ork  was  ordered 
discontinued.  A  sale  of  lots  belonging  to  the  city,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Leonard  and  Worth  streets,  brought  $25,325 — an  average  of  $900  a  lot — 
and  "Mr.  John  Kenrich  offered  to  the  Corporation  to  plough  and  harrow 
a  channel  on  the  bar,  outside  of  Sandy  Hook,  ten  rods  wide'  and  four 
fathoms  deep,  for  the  sum  of  $100,000 — which  was  not  accepted."  An- 
other sale  of  fourteen  corporation  lots,  "at  the  New  Albany  Basin,  in 
Greenwich  street,"  brought  $47,800. 

In  1819  the  first  Savings  Bank  was  organized,  under  the  auspices  of 
Thomas  Eddy,  Dr.  John  Griscom,  John  Pintard  and  others,  and  opened  in 
the  basement  of  the  New  York  Institution,  in  Chambers  street.  It  was 
afterward  located  in  Bleecker  street,  William  Bayard  being  its  first  presi- 
dent. 

"January  21.  Sate  of  lots,  at  auction,  between  Dey  and  Fulton  streets 
and  Washington  and  West  streets,  belonging  to  the  Corporation  and  for- 
merly bought  of  Richard  Varick:  No.  1-7,  on  Dey  street,  bought  by  Leonard 
Kip,  Philip  Brasher,  Philip  Hone,  W.  H.  Ireland  and  William  Howard,  at 
an  average  of  $4,000  a  lot.  No.  8-13,  on  West  street,  bought  by  John 
Suydam,  John  Van  Bussum,  George  Lorillard  and  Isaac  Conklin,  the  first 
five  at  about  the  same  average,  the  sixth  bringing  $11,000.  No.  14-21,  on 
Fulton  street,  by  Philip  Hone,  Joseph  Newton,  Charles  Dennison,  Abraham 
Valentine,  Peter  Embury,  Garrit  Storm  and  Philip  Brasher,  at  an  average 
of  $7,000  a  lot." 

On  February  19  General  Jackson  arrived  in  the  city.  An  extra  meet- 
ing of  the  Common  Council  was  called,  at  which  the  freedom  of  the  city 
and  a  gold  snuffbox  were  voted  to  him,  and  he  was  requested  to  sit  for  a 
full  length  portrait,  to  be  painted  for  the  gallery.  A  ball  was  given  in  his 
honor  at  the  City  Hotel.  The  Mariners'  Church  was  built  in  Roosevelt 
street,  the  Dutch  Church  in  Market  street,  and  the  Friends'  Meeting  House 
in  Hester  street  later  in  the  year. 

On  September  13  the  yellow  fever  broke  out  at  Old  Slip,  its  first 
appearance  since  1805.     Twenty-three  deaths  occurred. 

The  year  18  20  was  memorable  to  the  citizens  for  a  few  things.  The 
burning  of  the  old  Park  Theatre  occurred  on  May  25,  and  so  rapid  was 
the  conflagration  that  not  an  article  of  wardrobe  or  scenery  was  saved. 
The  New  York  Infirmary,  for  curing  diseases  of  the  eye,  was  founded  this 
year.  "At  a  meeting  of  citizens  at  the  City  Hall  to  take  measures  to  relieve 
the  sufferers  by  the  late  dreadful  fire  at  Savannah,  the  Corporation  was 
appealed  to,  but  declined  making  any  appropriation  from  the  city  treasury, 
for  want  of  power.     A  committee  was  appointed  and  $12,000  was  collected 


212  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

and  sent  to  the  Mayor  of  Savannah,  who,  taking  offence  at  a  part  of  the 
resolution  voted  in  New  York  to  be  sent,  returned  the  whole  amount  in 
disgrust.      It  was  refunded  to  the  subscribers." 

The  salaries  of  the  city  officers  were  reduced  this  year  16  per  cent., 
the  Mayor's  from  $7,000  to  $5,500,  and  the  iirst  balloon  ascerision  ever 
made  in  America  took  place  from  Vauxhall.     M.  Guille  was  the  balloonist. 

For  the  first  time  since  1780  the  Hudson  River  and  the  harbor  were 
entirely  closed  by  ice  in  January,  1821.  "The  citizens  crossed  in  great 
numbers  on  the  ice  to  Powles  Hook  and  back,  and  some  to  Staten  Island. 
Comparative  measurements  of  distance  were  made  upon  the  ice  across  the 
Narrows  and  from  Cortlandt  street  to  the  Jersey  shore,  and  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  each  was  one  mile  and  a  few  feet  wide.  The  thermometer 
registered  14  degrees  below  zero  at  the  coldest,  and  for  three  days  not 
more  than  10  degrees  above  zero."  Later  in  the  year  John  Randell,  Jr., 
reported  to  the  corporation  that  he  had  furnished  his  surveys  and  maps 
of  the  island,  on  which  work  he  had  been  engaged  for  ten  years;  that  all 
the  avenues  and  cross  streets  north  of  North  street  and  Greenwich  Lane 
had  been  laid  out,  the  total  expense  to  the  city  being  $32,484.98. 

In  February  the  iron  railing  which  three  years  before  had  been  put 
around  that  part  of  the  park  fronting  Chambers  street  and  Broadway  was 
ordered  to  be  continued  all  around  the  park,  and  in  a  pillar  of  the  prin- 
cipal gateway  at  the  southern  extremity  coins  and  articles  of  interest  for 
future  generations  were  to  be  inserted.  Dr.  Mitchell  addressed  the  people 
when  they  were  deposited.  It  would  be  of  interest  to  know  where  they 
are  now.  The  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was  established  this  year,  and  John 
T.  Irvin  was  appointed  first  judge.  The  Mayor's  Court  was  abolished,  or, 
rather,  he  was  not  required  upon  the  bench,  the  Recorder  afterward  presid- 
ing. The  former's  salary  was  fixed  at  $3,000  a  year,  and  his  duties  were 
defined  and  altered  principally  to  those  of  police  and  finance.  On  May  28  a 
constitutional  convention  was  held  at  Albany,  at  which  the  Council  of  Ap- 
pointment was  abolished  and  the  appointment  of  most  of  the  officers  was 
given  to  the  people.  St.  Luke's  Church,  in  Hudson  street,  and  the  Presby- 
terian churches  in  Vandewater,  Broome  and  Christopher  streets  were  built 
this  year,  and  the  North  River  Bank  chartered,  a  bonus  of  $60,000  being 
paid,  on  a  compromise  with  the  Swartwouts,  to  assist  them  in  reclaiming  the 
Jersey  Meadows.  Beekman  street  was  ordered  opened  through  Pearl,  Water 
and  Front  streets  to  the  river. 

While  the  year  18  22  opened  auspiciously  for  the  city,  with  an  Increase 
of  business  over  the  previous  year  and  a  brighter  outlook  for  the  future,  a 
setback  was  given  to  it  in  the  summer  by  the  appearance  of  yellow  fever 
in  Rector  street,  near  the  river.  The  first  case  occurred  on  June  17.  By  the 
middle  of  July  it  had  spread  with  fearful  rapidity.  Business  was  suspended 
for  the  next  two  months,  and  the  only  sounds  te  be  heard  were  the  rumbling 
of  hearses  and  the  footsteps  of  nurses  and  physicians.  High  fences  shut  off 
each  infected  street  or  district  below  the  City  Hall,  stores  and  dwellings 
were  closed  and  deserted,  and  the  Custom  House,  Postoffice  and  all  the 
banks,  insurance  offices  and  other  public  places  of  business  were  removed 
to  the  upper  part  of  Broadway  and  to  Greenwich  Village.  The  disease 
utterly  desolated  the  lower  portions  of  the  city,  and  thousands  sought  pro- 


CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK.  213 

tection  in  flight.  The  dead  numbered  nearly  four  hundred,  and  it  was  not 
until  ^arly  in  November  that  the  citizens  returned  to  their  homes.  Charles 
Mathews,  the  noted  English  actor,  arrived  from  England  while  the  pesti- 
lence was  at  its  height.  He  was  greatly  agitated,  and  insisted  on  finding 
shelter  in  some  remote  spot.  The  managers  of  the  Park  Theatre,  which 
was  rebuilt  in  1821,  took  him  to  a  gardener's  cottage  on  the  road  to  Hack- 
ensack,  where  he  remained  until  assured  of  the  disappearance  of  the  fever. 
Burials  in  Trinity  church  yard  were  discontinued  this  year. 

Many  churches  and  institutions  were  built  or  founded  in  1822,  among 
the  former  being  St.  Matthew's,  in  Walker  street;  the  Bowery  Presbyterian 
Church,  St.  Thomas's,  in  Broadway,  corner  of  Houston  street,  and  the  Uui- 
versalist  Church,  in  Prince  street.  Among  the  institutions  were  the  Appren- 
tices' Library  and  the  Mercantile  Library  and  the  United  Domestic  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

On  January  6,  1823,  the  Mayor,  in  accordance  with  the  new  constitu- 
tion, was  appointed  by  the  Common  Council,  Stephen  Allen  being  re-elected. 
The  celebrated  interment  law  was  passed  in  the  same  month,  forbidding 
burials  south  of  Canal  street,  and  a  "new  burial  ground  was  laid  out  be- 
tween Fortieth  and  Forty-second  streets,  on  Fourth  and  Fifth  avenues,  con- 
taining ten  acres  and  costing  $8,449."  The  Fulton  Bank  and  the  New 
York  Gaslight  Company  were  incorporated  later  in  the  year,  the  latter 
having  granted  to  it  by  the  corporation  the  exclusive  privilege  for  thirty 
years  of  laying  castiron  gas  pipes  in  the  streets  south  of  Grand  street.  On 
June  16  Castle  Clinton  was  given  up  as  a  military  post  and  relinquished  to 
the  city. 

In  the  beginning  of  1824  news  from  Liverpool  of  a  great  rise  in  the 
price  of  cotton  reached  the  city.  "Pilot  boats  and  expresses  were  dis- 
patched to  all  the  Southern  cities  and  ports  to  purchase  the  commodity, 
which  rose  instantly  from  15  to  30  cents  a  pound.  Vast  sums  were  lost  and 
won,  and  the  speculating  mania  extended  to  all  kinds  of  merchandise.  A 
strong  impulse  was  given  to  business  for  a  time.  The  reaction  set  in,  and 
prices  fell  below  the  former  standard,  prostrating  respectable  and  estab- 
lished houses,  and  giving  the  mercantile  community  a  shock  from  which  it 
did  not  recover  for  many  years."  During  the  year  sixteen  hundred  houses 
v/ere  built  in  the  old  Eighth,  Ninth,  Tenth  and  Eleventh  wards.  They  were 
mostly  two  story  structures.  A  correspondingly  great  increase  took  place 
in  the  value  of  real  estate,  especially  in  the  northern  part  of  the  city. 

The  city  was  honored  on  Monday,  August  16,  by  the  presence  of 
General  Lafayette,  who  had  arrived  on  the  Cadmus  the  preceding  day, 
and  landed  on  Staten  Island,  where  he  stayed  at  the  residence  of  Daniel  D. 
Tompkins,  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  From  the  Battery  he  was 
escortefd  to  the  City  Hall,  where  he  was  welcomed  by  the  corporation  and 
congratulated  by  Mayor  Paulding  on  his  safe  arrival.  "An  immense  and 
most  enthusiastic  gathering  of  the  people  proclaimed  the  warmth  of  its 
affection  for  the  friend  of  Hamilton,  the  adopted  brother  of  Washington, 
and  the  man  who  had  won  golden  opinions  from  all  ranks  and  parties  by  his 
frankness  and  valor  in  the  American  Revolution."  Men  in  all  walks  of  life 
vied  with  one  another  to  do  him  honor.  After  the  ceremony  he  was  con- 
ducted to  Bunker's  Mansion  House,  the  guest  of  the  city.     He  visited  the 


214  CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK. 

navy  yard,  fortifications  and  public  institutions,  and  on  his  departure  was 
escorted  by  a  large  detachment  of  troops  to  Kingsbridge,  whence  he  set 
out  for  his  proposed  tour  through  the  States.  On  his  return  in  September  a 
fete  was  given  to  him  at  Castle  Garden,  "which  for  grandeur,  expense  and 
entire  effect  was  never  before  witnessed  in  this  country,  six  thousand 
persons  being  assembled  in  that  immense  area."  The  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  merchants  resolved  this  year  to  adopt  the  new  measure  of  buying 
and  selling  by  the  quintal  of  100  pounds,  instead  of  112,  as  heretofore,  be- 
ginning with  January  1,  1825.  Anthracite  coal  from  Pennsylvania  was 
introduced  into  the  city  the  latter  part  of  the  year,  but  was  not  universally 
used. 

The  year  1825  found  a  large  and  mixed  population  in  New  York, 
transportation  facilities  into  the  heart  of  the  continent  and  a  foreign  trade 
diffused  over  the  whole  globe.  The  population  numbered  166,000,  and  was 
straining  at  the  leash  in  its  efforts  to  achieve  more  strength  and  prosperity. 
The  Erie  Canal,  gaspipes,  joint  stock  companies,  the  opera,  the  Sunday 
paper,  the  Merchants'  Exchange  and  marble  as  a  building  material  all  made 
their  advent  in  the  great  metropolis  in  the  course  of  this  year,  and  New 
York's  evolution  was  a  fact. 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 


The  City's  Musical  Life  from  1825  to  1872. 


The  Garcia  Family  — "The  Woods" — Mrs.  Segriin — Madame  Borghese — Ha- 
vana Opera  Com.pany — Miss  Clotilda  Barili — Madame  Anna  Bishop 
— Madame  Bosio — Madame  Anna  Thillon — Madame  Al- 
boni — Adelina  Patti — Clara  Louise  Kellogg. 

The  meagreness  of  musical  entertainment  in  this  country  before  1825 
seems  incredible.  That  New  Yorlcers  then  were  content  with  the  existing 
condition  of  the  arts,  and  particularly  of  music,  can  only  be  ex- 
plained by  understanding  the  general  absence  of  money  and  leisure  at 
that  period.  In  1825  there  were  brought  to  New  York  the  Garcia  family 
and  their  associates,  an  Italian  opera  company  of  a  total  of  nearly 
thirty  persons,  of  which  the  brilliant  star  was  Miss  Garcia,  who  later  mar- 
ried a  New  York  v/ine  merchant,  Mr.  Malibran.  To  speak  the  name  Mali- 
bran  tells  the  story.  About  five  years  after  the  Garcia  troupe,  another 
Italian  opera  company,  wih  an  excellent  prima  donna  named  Pedrotti, 
arrived;  and  by  1834  the  American  cities,  even  in  those  days  of  sailing 
ships,  had  grown  to  be  considered  a  good  harvest  field  for  European  artists. 
In  1834  (September  9)  appeared  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Wood.  He  was  a 
first-rate,  robust,  dramatic  English  tenor  and  a  fine  actor,  and  she,  as  Miss 
Paton,  and  afterward  Lady  William  Lennox,  the  best  operatic  artist  the 
English  stage  had  records  of.  The  Malibran  and  Pedrotti  troupes  had 
brovight  an  exclusively  contemporary  Italian  repertoire  from  the  works  of 
Rossini  and  Bellini.  The  Woods  had  not  only  these,  but  the  best  French 
works,  translated  into  English.  They  brought  out  "Fra  Diavolo"  and 
kindred  operas.  Mrs.  Wood  was  then  a  woman  of  35,  of  impressive,  rather 
than  handsome  mein,  with  a  soprano  of  beautiful  quality,  very  flexible, 
of  wide  extent  and  perfect  schooling.  Her  ability  was  equal  to  any  opera, 
and  in  those  days  vocal  development  seems  to  have  reached  the  high-water 
mark  that  the  public  have  ever  since  exacted.  This  lady  could  sing 
"Norma"  or  "Semiramide"  as  thrillingly  as  "Amina"  or  "Zerlina." 

"The  Woods,"  as  the  newspapers  chronicled  them,  remained  in  this 
country  nearly  seven  years,  held  the  palm  against  all  comers  and  were 
the  standard  of  excellence  for  a  generation  after  their  departure.  In  1830 
Miss  Sherriff,  Miss  Poole,  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr.  Giubeeli  were  here.  They 
Introduced  "Fidelio"  in  English.  Miss  Sherriff  was  the  third  English 
prima  donna  of  rank  in  her  profession  to  visit  New  York.  Her  acting  was 
admirable,  but  her  musical  capabilities  did  not  equal  those  of  Mrs.  Wood, 
and  her  repertoire  was  not  so  extensive.      Miss  Sherriff   brought  out  for 

215 


2i6  CRADLE    DAYS    OF    NEW     YORK. 

the  first  time  Adam's  "Postilion."  While  the  men  ,of  the  company  were 
excellent,  the  contralto,  Miss  Poole,  excited  an  enthusiasm  for  her  lovely- 
voice  and  her  fascinating  delivery  that  captured  some  of  the  honors  from 
the  prima  donna.  Miss  Poole  became  subsequently  the  most  renowned  con- 
tralto of  England.     Miss  Sherriff  soon  after  returned  to  England. 

In  1841,  while  the  veteran  tenor,  Braham,  was  singing  with  stentorian 
voice  to  crowds  in  the  Atlantic  cities,  his  sea  songs  of  the  previous  cen- 
tury, there  entered  New  York  a  modest  English  opera  troupe.  It  was 
in  every  detail  excellent,  and  was,  in  its  sphere,  for  ten  years  the  most 
popular  and  worthy  musical  organization  of  the  Union.  It  introduced 
to  the  public  many  new  works  in  admirable  English  adaptations. 

March  29  Mrs.  Seguin  made  her  first  appearance  with  her  husband 
(bass)  and  Mr.  Manners  (tenor)  in  a  version  of  "Zampa"  that  delighted 
the  public.  Mrs.  Seguin  was  born  in  London,  the  daughter  of  a  physician. 
She  was  an  excellent  and  well-schooled  soprano,  an  acceptable  actress  and 
sang  charmingly  every  part  she  essayed.  She  was  the  aunt  of  Parepa  Rosa, 
who  appeared  twenty-five  years  later.  Mr.  Seguin  was  a  fit  partner,  an 
excellent  actor  and  impressive  singer.  As  an  actor  his  work  in  "Fra 
Diavolo"  and  the  "Bohemian  Girl,"  which  opera  the  Seguins  introduced, 
has  never  been  surpassed.  They  produced  "Don  Pasquale"  in  English  in 
1846,  the  tenor  being  Mr.  Frazer. 

In  these  days  New  York  needed  an  Italian  opera  house,  and  a  small 
auditorum  called  "Palmo's"  was  opened  February  3,  1844.  Mme.  Borghese 
was  the  prima  donna.  The  rest  of  the  company  were  not  notable  except 
Mme.  Pico,  the  contralto,  who  became  a  pet  of  the  public  and  held  that 
position  for  several  years.  Borghese  was  young  and  handsome,  but  her 
vocal  work  was  unequal,  and  the  New  York  public  had  the  voices  of  Mali- 
bran,  Pedrotti  and  Wood  in  their  memories  for  purposes  of  comparison,  and, 
having  become  accustomed  to  the  greatest,  the  career  of  the  Palmo  house 
became  checkered.  On  November  25,  1844,  the  "Lucrezia  Borgia"  of  Doni- 
zetti was  first  heard  at  Palmo's. 

The  years  after  1844  seem  to  have  been  lean,  musically,  in  this  city. 
In  1847  there  was  a  shaking  up.  On  April  15,  the  Havana  Opera  Company 
played  for  two  nights.  This  organization  grew  out  of  a  unique  civic  bar- 
gain worthy  of  repetition.  The  town  authorities  of  Havana  conceded  to 
one  Tacon  or  Marti  the  monopoly  of  the  fish  markets  of  that  Catholic  city, 
on  condition  that  he  provide  the  town  with  the  best  Italian  opera  at 
moderate  prices.  The  time  favored  the  project,  for  Europe  was  too  busy 
singing  the  "Marseillaise"  to  listen  to  other  strains.  There  were  thus 
gathered  together  the  best  artists  of  the  world,  combining  a  company  of 
seventy-two,  including  Arditi  as  first  violin  and  leader  and  Bottisini,  the 
first  living  contra-bass  player.  Other  members  of  the  orchestra  were 
chosen  players,  and  New  Yorkers  heard  for  the  first  time  exactly  what  the 
composer  of  an  opera  had  written.  The  principal  singers  had  the  best 
European  reputations.  Except  the  great  quartet  of  Her  Majesty's,  Grisi, 
Rubini,  Tambourini  and  Lablache  and  Duprez  of  Paris,  the  Havana  com- 
pany held  the  cream  of  the  opera  stage.  Its  first  work  was  "^rnani."  The 
singers  were  Perelli,  Vita,  Novelli,  Candi  and  Madame  Tedesco.  Perelli 
was  only  a  fair  actor,  but  had  a  beautiful  tenor  voice  and  was  a  perfect 


CRADLE  DAYS  OP  NEW    YORK.  217 

singer;  he  was,  besides,  a  composer.  The  rest  of  the  men  were  good  and 
Tedesco  was  the  first  rank.  His  brief  appearance  (two  nights)  did  not 
introduce  the  leading  attractions.  These  were  heard  June  9,  1847,  when  a 
season  began  with  Verdi's  "I  Due  Foscari,"  and  the  incomparable  barytone 
Badiali  made  his  debut.  He  was  considered  the  peer  of  Tamburini,  who 
never  strayed  from  Paris  or  London  and  was  the  admired  of  the  Queen. 
Badiali  was  a  majestic  personality,  had  a  voice  of  power,  sweetness,  flexi- 
bility, perfect  culture,  and  (as  can  be  permittedly  said  in  French)  tears. 
This  season,  ending  July  8,  one  month,  gave  Pacini's  "Saffo,"  "Norma," 
"Sonnambula"  and  a  revival  of  "Mose  in  Egitto." 

There  was  an  interesting  reopening  on  January  4,  1847,  in  Palmo's 
Opera  House,  under  the  management  of  Sanguirico  (an  admirable  buffo) 
and  Patti  (a  trustworthy  tenor  and  father  of  the  immortal  Adellna).  It 
was  for  the  appearance  of  Miss  Clotilda  Barili,  a  beautiful  girl  and  good 
singer.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Madame  Patti  by  a  previous  marriage. 
This  young  lady  afterward  married  into  a  fashionable  and  wealthy  New 
York  family  and  became  daughter-in-law  of  Colonel  Thorne.  The  opera  was 
"Linda"  and  the  tenor  Benedetti,  a  remarkably  attractive  artist,  only  ex- 
celled then  and  for  a  generation  by  Salvi  and  Bettini.  Beneventano  for 
this  occasion  was  the  barytone.  His  voice  was  robust,  but  the  vocal  finish 
was  absent,  and  he  soon  lost  his  popularity. 

About  this  time  Castle  Garden  grew  to  be  acceptable  for  summer  per- 
formances, and  on  August  18,  184  7,  the  Havana  Opera  Company  revisited 
New  York  and  performed  there.  They  gave  "Ernani,"  "Norma"  and  "Son- 
nambula," the  tickets  being  50  cents. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  1847,  a  great  English  artist  made  her  debut  at 
the  Park  Theatre,  Madame  Anna  Bishop.  She  sang  "Linda  di  Chamounix" 
in  English,  with  an  adequate  support  and  with  Bochsa,  the  composer,  and 
greatest  living  virtuoso  on  the  harp,  as  her  conductor.  Madame  Bishop  was 
then  at  her  best  and  should  then  be  judged,  not  as  when  in  more  recent 
years,  as  an  old  lady,  she  lagged  upon  the  stage.  Her  voice  was  always 
what  may  be  described  as  veiled.  Yet  that  is  all  that  could  be  said  to  its 
disadvantage.  It  was  a  high  soprano,  musical,  ample,  flexible  to  the  last 
degree,  and  cultivated  to  its  widest  possibilities.  As  an  artist  she  was  most 
satisfying. 

On  November  22,  1847,  undoubtedly  a  musical  year,  the  Astor  Place 
Opera  House,  just  built,  opened  under  the  management  of  Sanguirico  and 
Patti.  The  soprano  who  was  the  mainstay  of  the  company  was  named 
Truffe,  She  was  a  young  and  beautiful  woman  whose  voice  easily  filled 
that  moderate-sized  auditorium.  Yet,  while  a  correct  and  entertaining 
singer,  she  had  little  of  the  authority  or  magnetism  that  seems  essential  to 
awaken  enthusiasm  and  hold  the  public. 

On  December  1,  1847,  Bellini's  "Beatrice  di  Tenda,"  an  inferior  work, 
however,  was  given  with  the  sisters  Clotilda  Barili  and  Amalia  Patti.  Soon 
after,  that  was  December  8,  a  Madame  Biscaccianti,  who  was  a  Miss  Osti- 
nelli,  of  Boston,  made  her  debut  here,  but  none  seemed  to  have  saved  the 
day  or  brought  fortune  to  the  new  house.  However,  on  January  28,  1848, 
Madame  Barili-Patti  appeared  in  "Romeo"  (another  of  the  lesser  works  of 
Bellini),  but  the  lady,  although  a  regulation  artist  of  an  earlier  day,  failed 


2i8  CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK. 

to  make  the  season  successful.  Her  youngest  daughter,  Adelina,  was  four 
years  old.  In  1848  the  business  of  the  world  began  to  revive.  On  March  11 
the  renowned  artists,  Steffanone,  the  prima  donna,  and  Marini,  the  bass,  only 
second  to  Lablache,  opened  in  "Norma"  with  the  Havana  Opera  Company, 
and  on  March  18  the  beautiful  Madame  Bosio  appeared.  Steffanone  was  a 
grand  and  ponderous  artist  of  the  highest  rank,  and  while  Bosio  was  equal 
to  all  that  Steffanone  did,  she  also  would  exalt  the  light  or  comic  characters 
like  Zerlina,  Amina,  Rosina  and  the  rest  to  the  leading  place.  Her  voice 
was  most  beautiful,  her  acting  piquant  and,  when  needed,  noble.  Her  place 
was  soon  first  in  the  hearts  of  the  public,  a  place  which  she  enjoyed  until  her 
lamented  death,  ten  years  later,  at  the  age  of  35.  Salvi  now  debuted 
in  "La  Favorita."  As  a  tenor  he  was  then  as  much  of  a  revelation  as  Caruso 
is  to-day.  With  a  voice  of  tenor  quality,  pure,  smooth,  even,  highly  musical, 
used  with  the  best  intelligence  and  cultivation  imaginable,  he  carried  his 
audiences  with  him.  The  quintet  of  Bosio  (or  Steffanone),  Badiali,  Salvi, 
Marini  and  the  contralto  Nantie  Didiee,  with  an  orchestra  of  Arditi's,  in 
an  opera  house  of  normal  dimensions,  was  a  musical  happening  on  which 
the  enthusiasm  of  memory  always  lingers. 

On  the  11th  of  September,  1850,  Jenny  Lind  gave  her  first  concert 
at  Castle  Garden.    A  full  history  of  the  event  has  been  told  in  Chapter  XIX. 

An  unequal  but  very  popular  artist  appeared  November  4,  1850,  in 
Teresa  Parodi.  Her  Norma  had  merit,  but  not  so  much  beyond  that  of  the 
several  prima  donne  then  before  the  public  as  to  cause  marked  enthusiasm. 
Jenny  Lind  had  sung  "Casta  Diva,"  at  her  own  concerts,  and  the  great 
Norma  in  her  entirety  was  to  come  with  Grisi. 

On  October  8,  1850,  the  Astor  Place  Opera  House  had  reopened  with  a 
most  valuable  prima  donna,  Madame  Rose  de  Vries,  and  her  husband,  a 
painstaking  tenor.  All  of  her  impersonations  were  good,  beginning  with 
the  exacting  and  popular  Norma  and  reaching  the  lightest  roles. 

On  the  4th  of  December  Bettini  appeared  for  the  first  time  as  Edgardo, 
and  immediately  became  a  prime  favorite,  sharing  the  public  enthusiasm 
with  Salvi.  These  fine  artists  seem  to  have  occupied  public  attention  for 
many  months. 

On  the  18th  of  September,  1851,  there  appeared  at  Niblo's  Garden 
Theatre  an  admirable  prima  donna  of  lighter  opera- — Madame  Anna 
Thillon.  She  was  of  English  birth  and  married  to  a  French  musician. 
Her  brilliant  career  had  begun  in  Paris.  She  was  young,  pretty,  naive  and 
piquant  as  an  actress,  and  an  excellent  musician,  with  a  flexible  and  culti-» 
vated  voice  of  moderate  power.  She  began  v/ith  Auber's  "Crown  Dia- 
monds" and  was  soon  most  popular. 

On  December  7,  1852,  after  a  long  season  of  no  opera  to  speak  of,  the 
great  Madame  Alboni  appeared.  There  are  a  few  matters — not  arithmetical 
— upon  which  there  are  no  differences  of  opinion.  One  of  these  is  the  rank 
of  primacy  of  this  wonderful  contralto.  She  was  hugely  fat  to  be  tol- 
erated in  operatic  costume.  She  had  an  intelligent  face,  and  when  she 
opened  her  mouth  there  issued  a  voice  that  may  be  described  as  smooth  as 
oil,  sweet  as  sugar,  flexible  as  a  clarinet,  perfect  as  to  intonation,  cultivated 
to  the  utmost  possibilities  of  a  human  organ  and  musical  as  is  rarely  heard. 
Then  she  used,  as  regards  phrasing,  declamation  and  all  the  refinements 


CRADLE  DAYS  OF  XEIV   YORK.  219 

of  the  art  of  the  singer,  every  art  that  the  most  exacting  criticism  could 
demand.  The  florid,  difficult,  but  singable  music  of  Rossini  seemed  to  have 
been  written  expressly  for  her  most  ravishing  and  exact  voice  and  perfect 
method.  The  art  of  Alboni  has  never  been  overestimated.  It  stands  alone. 
On  September  27,  1852,  another  great  artist  first  appeared  in  concerts. 
This  was  Madame  Henrietta  Sontag.  A  better  idea  of  this  great  artist,  of 
this  era  of  artists,  can  be  had  to-day  by  comparing  her  to  Madame  Sem- 
brich.  This  great  lady,  for  she  shone  in  society  as  on  the  stage,  began  her 
operatic  season  January  10,  1853,  in  "La  Figlia  del  Reggimento"  of  Doni- 
zetti. The  tenor  was  Pozzolini,  an  excellent  singer  and  attractive  man,  and 
the  barytone  the  popular  Badiali.  The  verdict  was  that  never  before  had 
such  delightful  impersonations  been  given  as  Sontag's.  A  comic  actress, 
amusing  and  arch,  she  could  be  also  an  impressive  and  most  pathetic  Norma. 
After  her  season  in  Nev/  York  her  company  went  to  Mexico,  where  she  died 
the  next  year  at  the  age  of  4  9.  Sontag  was  married  to  the  Count  Rossi,  who 
had  been  the  Italian  minister  to  Russia.  She  was,  like  Lind  and  Alboni,  an 
ornament  of  brilliancy  for  the  traditions  of  her  profession.  June  30,  1854, 
there  appeared  at  Castle  Garden  a  barytone  named  Graziani.  His  support 
v/as  inferior  and  his  advent  and  departure  were  unnoticed.  Yet  his  rank 
was  of  the  highest,  and  later  he  was  a  popular  favorite,  if  not  an  idol,  of 
London. 

September  4,  1854,  Castle  Garden  was  crowded  to  hear  the  first  notes  of 
Grisi  and  Mario.  Susini  (bass)  and  Mme.  Amalia  Patti-Strakosch  were  of 
the  company.  Grisi  had  been  a  long  time  getting  to  his  country.  Super- 
stitious of  the  water  and  being  alv-^ays  in  demand  in  England  and  France  it 
was  only  a  not-to-be-refused  sum  that  lured  her  to  New  York  at  the  age 
of  43.  She  was  four  years  older  than  her  husband,  and  was  a  beautiful, 
statuesque  woman,  the  tragedy  queen,  or  Siddons,  of  the  lyric  stage.  Mario 
was  one  of  the  handsomest  men  "on  the  boards,"  and  the  owner  of  a  voice 
which  the  word  delicious  alone  describes.  Susini  was  a  noble  bass,  but 
Madame  Strakosch  shared  little  of  the  wonderful  family  gifts  of  the  Pattis. 
Of  course  Grisi  played  "Puritani,"  which  had  been  written  for  her,  and 
"Norma."  Since  Pesta,  for  whom  "Norma"  was  written,  all  Normas  had  to 
bear  comparison  with  Grisi.  The  weather  shortly  grew  cool  and  the  company 
was  transferred  to  the  Academy  of  Music,  Fourteenth  street  and  Irving 
place,  which  was  finished  October  2,  1854.  Grisi's  voice  was  now  at  its  best, 
yet  needed  a  little  husbanding.  Its  beauty,  breadth,  majesty  and  charm  de- 
manded no  musical  education  to  appreciate.  Mario  differed  from  all  tenors 
in  vocal  refinement,  distinction  and  sheer  beauty.  His  style  was  noble  if  not 
so  robust  as  Salvi's,  but  a  quality  of  voice  and  a  delivery  more  divine  than 
Mario's  are  not  conceivable.  When  he  returned  to  this  country  many  years 
after,  the  lost  voice  with  which  he  sought  to  recover  his  lost  fortunes,  had 
the  piteousness  of  the  wind  wailing  through  broken  harp  strings.  October 
9,  1854,  was  the  first  appearance  of  the  Pyne-Harrison  troupe.  Louisa 
Pyne  caught  the  public  heart  from  the  initial  performance — a  pretty, 
bright,  pure  looking  blonde,  an  excellent  actress  with  a  soprano  of  excep- 
tional beauty  and  the  highest  cultivation,  a  prima  donna  of  the  very  first 
rank,  although  singing  in  English.  Some  one  asked  Grisi  about  her  own 
"Sonnambula,"  that  growing  embonpoint  was  making  less  frequent  and  less 


220  CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK. 

illusive.  She  said,  "Go  hear  Louisa  Pyne.  She  is  la  Sonnambula!"  Mr. 
Harrison  had  been  a  very  successful  tenor,  but  his  voice  was  worn.  Their 
success  was  complete.     They  played  125  times. 

March  12,  1855,  heard  the  debut  of  Brignoli,  who  became  for  so  many 
years  the  pet  of  the  public.  No  stage  experience  or  teaching  could  have 
made  of  him  an  even  passable  actor;  but  the  public  cared  alone  for  his 
voice,  which,  in  quality,  was  the  counterpart  of  Giuglini's,  who  with  Titiens 
vras  some  years  later  the  favorite  of  London.  Brignoli's  voice  was  a  pure 
tenor,  even  and  beautiful,  but  the  same  natural,  unplastic  disqualification 
for  acting  retarded  his  progress  as  a  vocal  artist.  Nevertheless,  the  public 
cherished  him  as  its  favorite.  Salvi's  voice  was  going;  Bettini  had  dis- 
appeared; therefore  why  not?  On  May  2,  1855,  the  "Trovatore"  was  first 
heard.  Interpreted  by  Steffanone,  Vestrale — the  contralto — Brignoli  and 
Amodio,  it  seized  the  public  once  for  all.  Vestrale  was  tall,  majestic,  with 
a  powerful  voice  and  good  schooling  for  the  florid  male  parts  of  the  Italian 
operas.  She  became  a  favorite,  and  for  her  height,  figure,  authority  and 
heavy  contralto  voice  was  awarded  the  sobriquet  of  the  Majestic  Vestrale. 
Amodio  might  be  compared  to  Madame  Alboni  for  excessive  fat,  and  for  the 
great  sweetness  it  seemed  to  confer  upon  his  voice.  It  was  a  barytone — 
fresh,  young,  high,  even,  powerful  and  melodious.  His  success  continued 
many  seasons  at  the  Academy  of  Music.  On  May  8  of  this  year  a  most 
valuable  artist  came  to  succeed  Steffanone.  It  was  Madame  La  Grange.  This 
lady  did  admirably  every  task  she  attempted,  and  although  her  voice  had 
hardly  the  beauty  of  Bosio's  or  Sontag's,  for  it  always  showed  the  tremolo, 
yet  her  certainty  as  an  artist  was  never  at  fault.  She  has  left  a  delightful 
memory  for  thousands.  On  April  13,  1857,  Madame  Gazzaniga  appeared,  and 
"Traviata"  was  first  heard.  This  lady's  earnestness  atoned  for  what  might 
to-day  be  passed  over  for  vocal  shortcomings.  Yet  she  never  sang  out  of 
tune  or  phrased  unintelligently.  Her  Traviata  was,  all  the  same,  a  delight- 
ful performance,  and  the  last  act  has  been  rarely  so  pathetically  delivered. 

On  November  2,  1857,  came  Madame  D'Angri,  a  Greek  lady,  a  contralto 
who  rivalled  the  peerless  Alboni.  Her  voice  had  not  quite  the  beauty  of 
Alboni's.  It  was  more  reedy,  a  quality  frequent  in  contraltos,  but  in  the 
matter  of  vocal  method  there  was  no  difference  discoverable  and  her  ad- 
vantage as  an  actress  was  incomparable.  These  names  filled  the  musical 
world  till  October  20,  1858,  when  a  pretty,  petite  prima  donna  appeared 
named  Signorina  Piccolomini.  She  was  a  Roman,  and  was  said  to  be  of 
the  historical  family  of  that  name,  and  a  niece  of  the  living  cardinal. 
These  were  then  greater  aids  to  popularity  and  social  success  than  now. 
Nevertheless  Piccolomini  became  popular,  although  with  an  incomplete 
equipment  of  some  of  the  essentials  for  a  prima  donna.  She  sang  for  seven 
months  in  this  city. 

On  September  14,  1858,  Madame  Pauline  Caulson,  late  of  New  Orleans, 
made  her  first  appearance — a  prima  donna  of  perfect  attainments,  an 
admirable  voice  and  a  lady  of  much  distinction.  Her  repertoire  was  exten- 
sive, and  through  her  was  brought  out  "I  Vespri  Siciliani"  of  Verdi  on  No- 
vember 7,  1859,  in  which  were  included  Brignoli  and  the  excellent  bass 
Junca. 

On  November  24,  1859,  Adelina  Patti,  at  the  age  of  16,  appeared  first. 


CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK.  '  221 

She  sang  Lucia,  all  its  vocal  difficulties  melting  into  air  under  her  phenom- 
enal faculties.  An  amateur  between  the  acts  said,  "She  is  going  to  be  the 
greatest  artist  in  the  world."  His  hearer  replied:  "Going  to  be?  She  is!" 
On  December  3  she  sang  Amina,  in  "Sonnambula,"  and  on  February  6,  1860, 
Elvira,  in  "Puritani."  She  followed  with  Rosina,  in  the  "Barber,"  and 
"Martha."  This  wonderful  singer  was  born  February  16,  1843,  in  Spain, 
and  was  brought  to  New  York  a  baby  in  arms.  Her  name  is  a  synonym  for 
the  highest  achievements  in  the  art  of  singing.  Her  brother-in-law,  Maurice 
Strakosch,  was  one  of  her  teachers.  It  is  said  that  while  hearing  her  sing 
Aida  for  the  fortieth  time  he  had  taken  notes  during  the  performance,  to 
aid  his  pupil  in  her  untiring  toil  after  perfection. 

The  Civil  War  now  broke  out  and  musical  matters  were  silenced  in 
degree.  Nevertheless,  a  charming  young  prima  donna  of  New  York  birth 
appeared  at  the  Academy  of  Music  and  held  the  first  place  for  many  years 
with  the  public,  creating  many  charaeters  and  giving  delight  in  all  she 
attempted.     This  was  Clara  Louise  Kellogg. 

There  was  now  an  interregnum  of  new  operas.  It  is  true  the  war  was 
ended  when  the  great  Christine  Nilsson  appeared  and  introduced  Ambroise 
Thomas's  "Mignon"  and  the  very  fine  scene  of  Ophelia  by  the  same  com- 
poser, but  the  Italian  primate  Verdi  was  silent  and  would  not  be  heard 
from  till  1872  with  "Aida."  All  the  best  old  Italian  works  had  been  listened 
to  till  known  by  heart.  It  was  then  that  the  perseverance  for  Wagner  met 
its  reward.  The  public  had  been  slowly  reached.  The  new  generation  could 
accept  his  musical  forms,  and  so  it  was  that  with  the  war  of  1861-65  there 
had  seemed  to  come  with  the  other  vast  changes,  material  and  physical,  the 
appreciation  of  Wagner  that  has  moved,  if  not  stirred  up,  the  musical  world 
to  its  depths,  perhaps  accomplished  a  revolution,  which,  unlike  those  musi- 
cal mutations  of  past  centuries,  has  done  its  work  without  bloodshed  or 
bitterness, 


CHAPTER  XnV. 


History  of  Central  Park. 


Originally  Shanties  and  Bone-Boiling  Establishments— Land  Cost  $6,348,- 

969.30— Site  of  State  Arsenal—Used  by  Tweed  for  Political  Power 

— Introduction  of  European  Sparrows — Analysis  of  the  Soil. 

In  the  year  1849  a  letter  was  written  from  London  by  Mr.  Downing, 
addressed  to  the  "Horticulturist,"  a  periodical  of  that  date.  This  letter 
attracted  considerable  attention.  The  importance  of  parks  in  the  growing 
city  of  New  York  was  the  main  subject. 

Fernando  Wood  became  a  strong  advocate  of  the  necessity  of  a  park  to 
be  located  in  upper  New  York.  He  was  nominated  for  Mayor  in  1850.  He 
made  the  necessity  for  a  park  a  part  of  his  campaign  issue.  He  was  defeated 
by  Mr.  Kingsland,  who  took  ofTice  January,  1851.  May  5  of  the  same  year 
Mayor  Kingsland  was  convinced  of  the  importance  of  a  park,  and  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  Common  Council  urging  the  selection  of  a  site.  He  had  not 
advocated  a  park  up  to  this  time,  the  credit  being  due  to  Mr.  Wood.  The 
Common  Council  appointed  a  committee  on  lands  and  places,  which  selected 
Jones  Wood,  a  natural  piece  of  woodland  situated  on  the  East  River  above 
Sixtieth  street.  It  was  necessary  for  the  Legislature  to  take  action  before 
anything  could  be  done,  which  it  did  on  July  11,  1851,  approving  of  the 
selection  of  Jones  Wood  for  a  park.  Mr.  Wood  was  opposed  to  the  selection 
of  Jones  Wood,  as  not  being  properly  located,  and  advocated  the  selection 
of  a  piece  of  land  above  Fifty-ninth  street.  The  Common  Council  became 
convinced  of  its  mistake  and  appointed  another  committee  August  5,  1851, 
who  chose  the  present  site  of  Central  Park,  from  Fifty-ninth  street  to  One 
Hundred  and  Sixth  street,  from  Fifth  avenue  to  Eighth  avenue,  776  acres. 
The  extension  to  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  street  was  obtained  afterward. 

July  23,  1853,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  purchase 
of  the  land  now  occupied  by  Central  Park. 

The  act  creating  the  park  of  Jones  Wood  was  repealed  November  17, 
1853,  through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Wood.  Five  commissioners  were  appointed 
by  the  Supreme  Court  to  appraise  the  land  and  purchase  the  same,  under 
the  act  of  July  3,  1853.  They  finished  their  work  during  the  summer  of 
1855 — Washingon  Irving  serving  as  one  of  the  Commissioners. 

Fernando  Wood  was  again  nominated  for  Mayor  and  was  elected  and 
sworn  in  January  1,  1855.  At  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  work  on 
plans  that  had  been  approved  for  Central  Park,  the  municipal  government 
became  involved  in  legal  complications  by  reason  of  a  defective  charter, 
which  was  adjusted  by  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court.  On  May  19,  1856, 
the  Common  Council  passed  an  ordinance  creating  the  Mayor  and  Street 
Commissioner  and  a  member  of  the  Park  Commission, 


CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK.  223 

The  land  now  constituting  Central  Park  was  occupied  by  shanties,  bone- 
boiling  establishments,  piggeries  and  pools  of  offensive  stagnant  water 
which  rendered  the  neighborhood  anything  but  park-like.  The  first  full 
year's  report  of  the  men  who  were  given  the  work  of  turning  this  ground 
into  a  park  contains  the  following  description  of  its  condition: 

"It  was  already  a  straggling  suburb,  when  purchased  by  the  city, 
and  a  suburb  more  filthy,  squalid  and  disgusting  can  hardly  be  imagined. 
A  considerable  number  of  inhabitants  were  engaged  in  occupations  which 
are  nuisances  in  the  eyes  of  the  law  and  forbidden  to  be  carried  on  so  near 
the  city.  They  were  accordingly  followed  at  night  in  wretched  hovels  half 
hidden  among  the  rocks. 

"During  the  autumn  of  1857,  300  dwellings  were  removed  or  demol- 
ished by  the  commissioners,  together  with  several  factories  and  numerous 
'swill  milk  and  hog  feeding  establishments.'  Ten  thousand  loads  of  stone 
were  also  taken  off  the  land  and  used  to  build  a  rough  inclosing  wall." 

This  description  helps  one  to  appreciate  the  vast  amount  of  work  and 
artistic  planning  which  has  been  necessary  to  bring  the  park  to  its  present 
state  of  beauty  and  attractiveness,  and  it  is  interesting  to  see  how  fully  the 
prophecy  of  a  park  commissioner,  who  wrote  in  1868,  has  been  fulfilled: 

"But  we  who  are  in  the  middle  of  life,"  he  says,  "can  never  know  all 
its  beauty.  That  is  reserved  for  those  for  whom  we  have  planted  these 
shrubs  and  trees,  and  spread  these  level  lawns.  These  trees  will  arch 
over  many  happy  generations,  and  thousands  Vi^ho  are  not  yet  born  will 
enjoy  the  sweet  green  of  the  grass;  and  it  will  ever  habitually  serve  to  keep 
the  memory  of  its  founders  green." 

The  central  site  was  finally  selected,  despite  its  unpromising  topog- 
raphy, in  preference  to  the  one  first  proposed  at  Sixty-sixth  street  on  the 
East  River — the  Jones's  Wood  site — because  it  was  central  and  spacious.  It 
was  also  thought  that  the  great  expense  of  turning  it  into  building  lots — 
the  extensive  filling  of  low,  swampy  ground,  and  blasting  away  of  ledges — 
would  enable  the  city  to  purchase  the  land  at  a  low  figure.  Including  a 
number  of  acres  of  water  surface,  comprising  the  two  reservoirs  belonging 
to  the  Water  Department,  the  cost  was  about  $7,500  an  acre.  The  total 
acreage,  including  the  subsequent  extension  to  110th  street,  was  843,  and 
the  price  paid  $6,348,959.90. 

There  has  been  spent  in  bringing  the  park  to  its  present  condition 
somewhere  between  $30,000,000  and  $35,000,000. 

The  special  committee  appointed  by  the*  Board  of  Aldermen  to  select 
the  most  desirable  park  site  pronounced  emphatically  in  favor  of  "the 
Central  Park,"  stating  their  opinion  that  "it  could  be  made  to  compare 
favorably  with  the  most  celebrated  public  grounds  of  the  chief  cities  of 
Europe,  not  excepting  Hyde  Park  of  London,  the  Champs  Elysees  of  Paris, 
the  Prater  of  Vienna,  the  Cascine  of  Florence,  the  Corso  of  Rome,  the 
Prado  of  Madrid,  or  even  on  the  American  continent  with  the  spacious 
plazas  of  Havana  or  the  lovely  botanical  gardens  of  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

It  was  freely  predicted  by  the  opponents  of  the  park  that  it  would 
prove  a  white  elephant  on  the  hands  of  the  city;  that  it  could  never  be 
made  into  a  decent-looking  park,  and  was  an  unnecessary  extravagance 
which  the  city  did  not  need  and  could  not  afford. 


224  CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK. 

The  largest  settlement  of  the  park  seems  to  have  been  along  the  Eighth 
avenue  side.  Mount  St.  Vincent  was  included  within  the  park  borders,  situ- 
ated just  west  of  Fifth  avenue  at  105th  street,  on  the  old  Boston  post  road, 
which  ran  diagonally  through  the  park.  The  land  and  buildings  forming 
the  State  Arsenal  were  subsequently  purchased  by  the  city  and  added  to  the 
park  in  1867,  the  price  paid  being  $275,000. 

Owing  to  the  lack  of  funds  no  work  was  done  in  Improving  the  land 
until  1857.  In  April  of  this  year  the  legislature  authorized  the  issuance 
of  bonds,  and  in  the  following  June  a  tentative  beginning  was  made  on  the 
park.  Preliminary  surveys  had  been  carried  out  by  Egbert  L.  Viele,  the 
first  engineer  to  the  commissioners,  but  they  soon  decided  that  it  would  be 
desirable  to  offer  a  series  of  prizes  to  outside  architects  for  designs  for  the 
formal  laying  out  of  the  land.  In  1857  such  an  announcement  was  made, 
and  on  April  1,  1858,  thirty  designs  were  submitted.  That  of  Messrs.  Olm- 
sted &  Vaux  was  chosen,  and  they  were  awarded  the  first  premium  of 
$2,000.  In  1857  Mr.  Olmsted  had  been  appointed  superintendent  to  the 
board;  George  E.  Waring,  agricultural  engineer;  Samuel  I.  Gustin,  nursery- 
man, and  several  other  landscape  offices  had  been  created  and  filled. 

In  1858  Mr.  Olmsted  was  promoted  to  architect  in  chief  at  a  salary  of 
$2,500  a  year,  and  the  other  offices  abolished  or  subordinated  to  his. 

The  work  of  putting  the  successful  design  into  execution  was  begun  by 
Mr.  Olmsted,  Calvert  Vaux  and  J.  W.  Mould  in  June,  1858.  The  original 
plan  has  been  pretty  closely  adhered  to,  during  the  forty-odd  years  of  the 
park's  existence,  although  there  have  been  times  when  strong  efforts  were 
made  to  alter  it,  and  even  to  remodel  some  of  the  previous  work.  In  1871, 
when  the  Central  Park  commissioners  were  legislated  out  of  office,  and  a 
board  of  public  parks  for  the  whole  city  instituted,  such  an  attempt  was 
made,  one  of  its  features  being  an  extensive  thinning  of  the  trees. 

,In  the  National  Quarterly  Review  for  March  of  that  year  Edward  J. 
Sears,  LL.D.,  made  some  interesting,  because  extremely  personal,  com- 
ments on  the  lethargy  of  the  press  in  connection  with  the  "vandalism"  of 
the  new  park  administration: 

"Has  the  Times  become  indifferent  to  what  was  so  dear  to  poor  Mr. 
Raymond?  Has  Mr.  Greeley  no  protest  to  make  even  as  an  agriculturist? 
Must  the  World  remain  dumb  because  he  [Mr.  Peter  B.  Sweeney,  who  was 
then  president  of  the  park  board]  is  a  very  smart  fellow  at  election  time, 
and  carries  the  Irish  vote  in  his  pocket?  No  one  has  less  excuse  than  the 
Express,  for  few  visit  the  park  more  than  Mr.  Brooks  and  his  handsome 
cream-colored  ponies.  He  and  Mr.  Hastings  would  be  much  better  occupied 
in  exclaiming,  'Ringman,  spare  that  tree,'  than  in  going  to  law  with  each 
other.  As  to  the  Post,  we  fear  it  is  too  busily  occupied  eulogizing  all  books 
and  pamphlets  bearing  the  imprint  of  wealthy  publishers." 

Until  1871  the  history  of  the  park  was  an  uneventful  one.  Most  of  the 
commissioners  had  served  on  the  board  since  its  first  year,  and  except  for 
family  squabbles  over  the  details  of  management  and  construction,  the 
improvements  were  carried  on  without  interruption  practically  in  the  entire 
charge  of  Mr.  Olmsted.  The  difficulties  which  began  to  interfere  with  the 
efficiency  of  the  department  after  its  political  organization  in  1871  are  indi- 
cated by  the  following  extract  from  a  pamphlet  by  Mr.  Olmsted,  who  was 


•  CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK.  225 

subsequently  made  a  commissioner  and  president  of  the  board  shortly  prior 
to  his  dismissal: 

"As  superintendent  of  the  park,"  he  says,  "I  once  received  in  six  dayg 
more  than  7,000  letters  of  advice  as  to  appointments,  nearly  all  from  men 
in  office."  Delegations  from  various  political  organizations  came  to  find, 
out  "what  share  of  his  patronage  they  could  expect,"  and  in  order  to  make 
him  as  little  trouble  as  possible  in  its  parceling  out  "they  took  the  liberty 
to  suggest  that  there  could  be  no  more  convenient  way  than  that  you  should 
send  us  our  due  quota  of  tickets,  if  you  please,  sir,  in  this  form,  leaving  us 
to  fill  in  the  name."  Here  a  pack  of  printed  tickets  was  produced,  which 
proved  to  be  blank  appointments,  bearing  the  signature  of  Mr.  Tweed, 
"That,"  continued  the  spokesman  of  the  delegation,  "was  the  way  we  ar- 
ranged it  last  year,  and  we  don't  think  there  can  be  anything  better." 

There  seems  to  have  been  some  misconception  during  the  early  years  of 
the  park  as  to  its  real  purpose,  and  considerable  jealousy  of  its  regulations. 
In  April,  1864,  for  instance,  one  of  the  regiments  of  the  first  division  of 
the  National  Guard,  despite  the  vehement  opposition  of  the  park  keepers, 
marched  through  one  of  the  gates  and  proceeded  to  drill  upon  the  green. 
Another  regiment  subsequently  attempted  to  do  the  same  thing. 

An  interesting  item  in  the  report  for  1863  is  the  announcement  that 
fourteen  European  sparrows,  "moineau  of  France,"  were  let  loose  in  the 
park  in  the  spring  of  that  year.  This  original  fourteen,  apparently  the 
pilgrim  fathers  of  the  present  local  settlement,  must  now  be  represented  by 
several  million. 

The  paving  of  Fifth  avenue  up  to  the  park  was  completed  in  1863. 
Previous  to  this,  especially  in  wet  weather,  the  approaches  had  been  ex- 
tremely bad,  and  the  completion  of  the  Fifth  avenue  paving  led  to  an  im- 
mediate increase  in  the  use  of  the  park  for  driving.  In  its  early  days  guards 
were  stationed  at  each  of  the  park  gates,  and  a  part  of  their  duty  was  to 
count  the  number  of  persons  passing  in.  In  1861  the  result  of  the  count 
was  1,863,263  pedestrians,  73,548  equestrians,  and  467,849  carriages,  the. 
total  number  of  visitors  being  estimated  at  2,404,659. 

"For  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  nature  of  the  existing  vegetation,"' 
says  the  first  annual  report  (1857-58),  "a  botanical  survey  of  the  park  has. 
been  made.  First  to  learn  how  far  it  can  be  made  available  in  the  projected 
improvements  and  to  ascertain  what  plants  will  prove  most  flourishing  if 
transplanted  to  this  ground,  and  second  to  discover  what  alterations  the; 
soil  will  require  in  order  to  admit  of  an  increased  variety." 

This  report  details  about  seventy  species  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines: 
Among  the  trees  were  included  maples,  beech,  dogwood,  chestnut,  catalpa, 
red  birch,  persimmon,  ash,  locust,  black  walnut,  red  cedar,  sweet  gum, 
sycamore,  poplar,  American  aspen,  oak,  and  elm.  All  told  there  were  about 
150,000  trees  and  shrubs. 

Regarding  the  present  vegetation  there  seems  to  be  no  available  data, 
no  continuous  record  of  the  planting  having  been  kept  nor  any  detailed 
botanical  study  of  it  made  during  recent  years. 

In  1859  Prof.  Charles  A.  Joy,  of  Columbia  College,  made  analyses  of 
soil  from  various  portions  of  the  park.  These  are  given  in  the  following 
table,  an  while  nowadays  the  agricultural  chemist  depends  more  on  actual 


226  CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK. 

tests  of  what  a  given  soil  will  grow  than  upon  chemical  laboratory  analysis, 
Prof.  Joy's  figures  will  give  some  idea  of  the  condition  of  the  ground  when 
first  taken  in  hand  by  the  park  commissioners.  The  five  samples  were  taken 
from  the  following  locations: 

No.    1.     At  Seventieth  street,  near  Fifth  avenue. 

No.  2.  Between  Seventy-eighth  and  Seventy-ninth  streets,  at  Seventh 
avenue. 

No.  3.  Between  Eighty-third  and  Eighty-fourth  streets  and  Fifth 
and  Sixth  avenues. 

No.    4.      Between  102d  and  103d  streets  and  Fifth  and  Sixth  avenues. 

No.   5.     At  104th  street,  between  Seventh  and  Eighth  avenues. 

12  3                 4  5 

Sand  and  mica 71.63  81.36  82.67  75.58  79.44 

Water  and  organic  matter 2.89          2.93  3.44  3.05  3.51 

Soluble    silica 4.58          3.51  1.79  5.86  3.56 

Peroxide  of  iron 10.11          6.13  2.48  11.  10. 

Alumina    6.4             3.80  5.42  3.25  1.25 

Phosphoric  acid 2.5             0.50  1.94  trace  0.08 

Potash  and  traces  of  soda 0.1             0.87  0.45  0.35  1.25 

Magnesia    0.08  trace  1.50            .50  0.07 

Lime 1.25          0.15  trace  0.10  0.31 

Sulphuric  acid 0.10  0.50  trace  trace  0.31 

Loss    0.27          0.25  0.31  0.31  0.28 

The  soil  question  is  evidently  an  old  one  in  the  park.  This  one  would 
naturally  expect  when  the  rocky,  barren  waste  on  which  it  was  built  is 
remembered. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 


Bump  Board  of    Aldermen — Passenger    Transportation — Introduction    of 

Croton    Water — First    Local  Stage    Lines — First    "L"    Road — 

Advent  of  the  Flat  House — Beginning  of  Central  Park. 

While  "Cradle  Days  of  New  York"  was  being  compiled  requests 
came  to  the  writer  from  three  old  citizens  for  information  regarding 
the  progress  of  New  York  between  1835  and  1875 — the  period,  they  say, 
"when  she  began  to  sit  up  and  take  notice"  of  the  progress  of  her  sister 
cities,  and  when  she  doffed  her  swaddling  clothes.  One  of  the  old  citizens 
agreed  to  give  his  knowledge  of  occurrences,  and,  with  the  readers'  permis- 
sion, we  will  digress  once  more  to  make  room  for  an  interview  with  him. 
He  was  the  President  of  the  Cromwellian  Board  of  Aldermen, 
William  E.  Demarest,  who  died  a  short  time  ago.  This  board 
got  its  name  because  it  suggested  to  Some  misguided  news- 
paper man  Cromwell's  Rump  Parliament.  The  Cromwellian  board  had  its 
origin  in  the  legislation  passed  in  1873  establishing  minority  representa- 
tion in  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  Then,  as  now.  New  York  was  Democratic, 
and  a  law  was  enacted  electing  three  aldermen  from  each  Senate  district, 
for  which  no  voter  could  vote  for  more  than  two.  As  the  State  Constitu- 
tion gives  every  citizen  the  right  to  vote  for  all  officers  elected  in  his  dis- 
trict, Mr.  Demarest  headed  a  movement  which  elected  an  aldermanic  ticket 
under  the  law  existing  prior  to  1873.  These  aldermen  organized  regularly, 
and  reported  to  the  Mayor  that  the  board  was  ready  for  business  on  the 
date  specified  in  the  law,  with  the  result  so  well  known. 

"Speaking  of  New  York,"  said  Mr.  Damerest,  "it  wasn't  so 
much  of  a  place  when  I  came  here  to  live,  in  184  9.  It  was  a 
two  days'  drive  from  Elmira  to  Binghamton;  there  we  took 
the  New  York  and  Brie  Railroad  to  Piedmont,  and  from  there 
the  steamer  Thomas  Powell.  This  boat  was  named  after  its  owner,  and 
shortly  afterward  he  built  the  Mary  Powell — named  after  his  daughter — 
v/hich  has  been  a  feature  of  the  landscape  ever  since.  The  only  alternative 
route  was  by  line  boat  to  Albany,  and  from  there  by  steamer.  Horace 
Greeley  and  I  had  the  same  opinion  of  these  'line  boats,'  whose  'cent-and-a- 
half-a-mile,  mile-and-a-half-an-hour,'  I  haven't  forgotten  yet.  You  slept 
in  the  cabin,  and  in  the  morning  you  had  to  leave  the  wooden  slab  that 
answered  for  a  bed,  and  go  on  deck,  in  all  kinds  of  weather,  while  the 
cabin  was  being  fixed  for  breakfast.     Walking  was  more  to  my  fancy. 

"It  was  the  very  matter  of  passenger  transportation,  together 
with  the  introduction  of  Croton  water,  the  establishment  of  sewers, 
and  the  invention  of  the  flathouse,  that  made  New  York  a  metropolis.  You 
wouldn't  believe  it,  but  there  was  a  considerable  opposition  to  all  of  these 
at  the  start. 

227 


228  CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK. 

"The  first  local  stage  line  was  started  by  Kipp  &  Brown  in  1838.  It 
ran  from  the  South  Ferry  to  Charles  street;  it  was  afterward  extended  to 
Twenty-sixth  street,  and  finally  ran  to  Thirty-fourth  street.  Then  followed 
the  Dry  Dock  line,  and  afterward  Johnson  &  Shepard  ran  a  line  from  where 
the  Grand  Opera  House  now  stands  down  Eighth  avenue  to  Bleecker  street, 
to  Broadway,  and  by  Whitehall  street  to  South  Ferry. 

"The  Third  avenue  line,  the  Phoenix  line,  the  Yellow  Bird  line  and 
half  a  dozen  others  came  in  quick  succession,  all  within  about  three  years 
after  Kipp  &  Brown's  line.  In  these  stage  coach  days  we  had  no  near  side 
laws.  The  stage  would  pull  up  to  either  side,  or  stop  at  any  house  on  the 
block;  and,  so  far  as  climbing  up  the  steps  being  unpopular,  why,  just  recall 
that  the  women  wore  hoopskirts  in  those  days. 

"The  first  horsecar  line  was  the  Eighth  avenue  line.  This  paralleled 
the  stage  line,  and  Kipp  &  Brown  were  reputed  to  have  spent  $75,000  to 
prevent  the  legislature  granting  its  charter.  The  merchants  along  the  line, 
too,  opposed  it,  particularly  R.  L.  Stewart,  who  was  the  first  great  sugar 
merchant,  because  it  was  claimed  that  it  would  interfere  with  traffic.  The 
road  was  finally  completed  in  1851,  and  the  Sixth  avenue  and  Third  avenue 
lines  followed  within  a  short  time.  The  odd  thing  was  that  Kipp  &  Brown 
refused  to  build  the  horsecar  lines  themselves,  but  after  Oliver  Charlick  and 
George  Law  put  the  Eighth  avenue  line  through  successfully,  most  of  the 
remaining  stage  line  proprietors  secured  charters,  and,  after  the  three  lines 
mentioned  above,  quickly  constructed  car  tracks. 

"But  the  opposition  to  the  horsecar  wasn't  a  circumstance  to  the  fight 
made  on  the  'L'  road.  Oliver  Charlick  and  George  Law  opposed  the  Ninth 
avenue  'L'  even  more  bitterly  than  the  stage  line  people  fought  them;  but 
this  line,  from  Battery  Place  to  Ninth  avenue  and  Twenty-first  street  was 
finally  built,  and  it  began  running  in  1869.  It  was  operated  by  cable 
until  1870,  but  the  cables  wouldn't  work  successfully,  and  in  that  year 
'dummies'  were  introduced.  It  took  a  hard  winter  and  the  epizootic  to  make 
this  mode  of  travel  popular.  In  1874  I  think  it  was,  this  combination  struck 
town;  the  stage  and  horsecar  lines  were  paralyzed  by  the  epizootic  and  the 
deep  snow  made  walking  bad,  so  those  business  men  who  came  to  town  every 
morning  by  the  Hudson  River  line  were  forced  to  take  the  'L,'  and  by  the 
time  normal  conditions  were  resumed  the  superiority  of  this  mode  of  travel 
was  recognized.  The  Sixth  avenue  'L,'  or  Gilbert  road,  was  the  second  line 
built — in  1871,  I  think.  This  style  of  'L'  structure  is  the  one  now  in  general 
use.  The  Third  avenue  line  was  the  third  to  be  built,  and  then  followed 
the  Second  avenue  'L.'    They  were  all  running  in  '76. 

"The  first  railroad  out  of  New  York  was  the  New  York  and  Harlem, 
built  about  1836.  It  ran  from  White,  Elm  and  Centre  streets  to  Dover 
Plains.  It  depended  on  the  milk  traffic.  The  New  York  and  Erie  did  not 
run  trains  from  Jersey  City  until  about  1854,  depending  upon  steamboat 
connection  on  the  Hudson  River  at  Piermont  until  then.  The  Hudson  River 
road  was  started  in  1849.  Oliver  H.  Lee  was  the  first  president,  and  John  N. 
Wells  dug  the  first  shovelful  of  earth.  Its  first  New  York  terminal  was 
Thirtieth  street  and  Tenth  avenue;  its  tracks  were  extended  down  Tenth 
avenue,  through  West  street  to  Canal  and  down  Hudson  to  Laight  street,  at 
St.  John's  Park,  which  the  road  bought  from  Trinity  Corporation.     Com- 


CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK.  229 

modore  Vanderbilt  finally  bought  all  these  except  the  Erie  along  about  '63 
or  '64,  and  consolidated  them  into  the  New  York  Central.  The  New  Haven 
road  was  opened  shortly  after  the  Harlem — certainly  before  1860." 

"As  for  Croton  water,  it  dates  only  from  1842.  An  agitation  for  pure 
water  began  in  1831,  and  when  the  vote  was  taken  as  to  introducing  it,  in 
1832,  two  wards — the  poorest  and  most  densely  populated,  and  where  it 
was  most  needed,  of  course — gave  a  majority  against  it.  This  was  before  I 
came  from  Elmira,  but  I  remember  that  George  Low  built  the  aqueduct  at 
High  Bridge,  and  the  celebration  of  the  introduction  of  the  water  was  in 
1844. 

"The  first  'flathouse,'  or  'model  house,'  as  it  was  called  then,  was  built 
in  1849.  The  firm  of  James  Reeve  &  Co.,  of  which  my  father  was  the  'Co.,' 
furnished  the  lumber  for  it.  Where  would  we  put  all  the  people  now,  if  we 
hadn't  the  flats? 

"It  might  interest  you  to  know  that  the  first  New  York  policeman  to 
wear  a  uniform  was  Swayne  Lindsay.  He  was  a  fine  looking  man,  fully 
6  feet  2  inches  tall,  and  regulated  traflic  at  Broadway  and  Fulton  street, 
which  in  my  day  was  almost  as  crowded  and  noisy  as  now.  The  police  were 
mainly  Irish,  and  considered  it  servile  to  wear  a  uniform.  Besides,  if  neces- 
sary, the  star  badge  could  be  hidden  easily,  and  thus  save  its  wearer  any 
possible  inconvenience.  Lindsay  was  the  first  policeman  to  be  pensioned, 
too,  I  believe.  He  was  run  over,  and,  one  leg  becoming  shorter  than  the 
other,  a  bill  pensioning  him  passed  the  legislature. 

"Speaking  of  policemen,  I  recall  the  Dead  Rabbit  riot,  between  sym- 
pathizers of  the  old  municipal  police. and  the  metropolitan,  or  State,  force. 
The  municipal  force  had  become  so  corrupt  that  a  law  was  passed  giving 
the  Governor  control  of  the  police  of  the  metropolitan  district.  One  of  the 
local  police  commissioners,  Draper,  I  believe,  was  his  name,  carried  a  case 
to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  which  decided  that  the  legislature  had  not  the 
constitutional  right  to  take  the  power  to  appoint  policemen  away  from  the 
local  authorities. 

"The  first  street  in  New  York  to  be  paved  with  anything  but  cobble- 
stones was  Broadway,  which  was  paved  with  10-inch  granite  blocks.  This 
was  called  the  Russ  pavement,  after  its  inventor.  On  account  of  the  large 
smooth  surface  of  the  blocks  this  proved  too  slippery,  and  channels  were 
afterward  cut  crosswise  in  each  block. 

"It  was  not  until  after  1857  that  we  had  parks  that  could  be  called 
such.  The  only  two  breathing  places  for  us  were  the  Battery  and  City 
Hall  Park.  The  agitation  for  parks  began  in  1851,  and' two  years  later  the 
legislature  authorized  the  city  to  take  the  land  between  Fifty-ninth  and 
One  Hundred  and  Sixth  streets  and  Fifth  and  Eighth  avenues  for  a  public 
park.  The  boundary  was  extended  later  to  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  street. 
What  a  wilderness  it  was  then,  and  how  wearily  I  tramped  to  it  one  Sun- 
day morning,  to  see  nothing  but  swampland,  stagnant  pools  and  rocky 
ravines,  with  unsightly  hovels  dotting  it!  Along  about  April,  1857,  the 
legislature  by  act  named  the  proposed  breathing  place  Central  Park,  and  a 
board  of  eleven  commissioners  was  created  to  lay  it  out.  Plans  were  ad- 
vertised for,  and  out  of  thirty-three  submitted  two  only  were  chosen,  those 
of  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  and  Calvert  Vaux.     I  remember  the  day  work 


230  CRADLE  DAYS  OF  NEW   YORK. 

began  on  it,  and  saw  the  plans  in  Olmsted's  hands.  They  showed  roads  and 
paths  winding  in  and  out  amid  lakes,  forests  and  meadows.  I  look  on  the 
park  to-day  with  wonder  when  I  compare  it  with  its  former  condition. 
Riverside  was  acquired  in  1871,  and  Morningside,  I  think,  about  1873. 

"I  remember  the  great  mass  meeting  held  in  Union  Square  in  April, 
1861,  when  Mayor  Fernando  Word  in  an  eloquent  speech  declared  that  'the 
Union  must  and  shall  be  preserved,'  though  in  January  of  that  year  he 
sent  a  message  to  the  Common  Council  proposing  the  secession  of  the  city 
of  New  York  from  the  rest  of  the  State. 

"An  improvement  which  I  originated  is  the  putting  of  the  street 
names  on  the  gas  lamps.  When  I  came  here  the  names  were  on  the  corner 
houses,  and  could  not  be  seen  at  night.  Being,  a  stranger,  this  confused  me, 
and  a  letter  in  the  papers  and  an  interview  with  Mayor  Kingsland  had  the 
desired  result.  I  also  introduced  the  game  of  euchre  in  New  York.  It  was 
popular  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  but  no  one  here  knew  it  when  I 
came  here  to  live.  I  am  not  so  sure  that  this  is  an  improvement,  however. 
But,  then,  neither  am  I  sure  that  the  city  of  to-day  is  an  improvement  on 
Old  New  York.  You  have  more  people,  but  in  the  old  days  we  were  neigh- 
bors— at  least  if  we  had  the  same  politics  and  religion.  We  were  conserva- 
tive then.  Why,  before  the  war  no  one  with  any  claims  to  respectability 
dared  wear  a  mustache!  Do  you  know  that  General  Grant  was  the  first 
President  to  wear  his  upper  lip  covered?  I  remember  going  through  the 
Navy  Yard  with  a  foreign  visitor  while  the  man-of-war  Niagara  vras  build- 
ing; this  man  wore  a  mustache,  and  every  workman  on  the  Niagara  knocked 
off  to  see  the  hirsute  adornment.  And  what  a  storm  the  new  style  trousers 
aroused.  You  may  remember  the  old  ones,  with  the  big  flap  in  front.  Well, 
even  the  ministers  preached  against  the  innovation." 


Drew  &  Lewis,   New  York. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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